


Straight to the Ground

by msmadeline_clancy



Series: Ked Universes [13]
Category: Ghost Whisperer, The 100 (TV)
Genre: Class Issues, Consensual Sex, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fist Fights, Original Character(s), Past Relationship(s), Post-Apocalypse, Prisoners set free, Space Stations, Teen Angst, Teen Romance, Teenage Rebellion, Underage Drinking, illusion of safety, on the ground again and loving it because no one has been on earth in 200 years, that they know of hahaha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:40:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 20
Words: 85,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24316705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msmadeline_clancy/pseuds/msmadeline_clancy
Summary: Katie Clancy was born in space, and she'd never felt the sun on her face or breathed real air or floated in the water. No one she knew had. The Ark had kept what's left of the human race alive, but now their home was dying, and the one hundred prisoners were sent on a desperate whim by her father, Chancellor Jim Clancy,  to the ground was humanity's last hope. Each of them was there for breaking the law, but on the ground, there was no law. All they have to do is survive, but they will be tested by the Earth, by the secrets it held, and even themselves. AU
Relationships: Jim Clancy/Melinda Gordon, Katie Clancy/Ned Banks, Katie Clancy/Toby Saunders (past)
Series: Ked Universes [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/465010





	1. Chapter 1

**Ages for reference (I will add more characters along the way as I introduce them):**

**Jim — 42**   
**Melinda — 42**   
**Landon — 18**   
**Katie — 17**   
**Ned — 17**   
**Toby — 17**

* * *

Katie kept her head down, her eyes focused on the concrete she was laying on. When she closed her eyes, she could imagine the feel of the warmth of the sun on her face, trees all around her, and the scent of wildflowers in the breeze. At this moment, she wasn't alone or trapped in the Skybox without her parents.

Except that wasn't true. It had been almost two hundred years since a nuclear apocalypse killed everyone on Earth, leaving the planet simmering in radiation and inhabitable to life. Fortunately, there were some survivors. Twelve nations had operational space stations at the time of the bombs, and there was now only the Ark, one station forged from the many.

Everyone on the Ark has been told the Earth needed another hundred years to become survivable again. Four more space-locked generations, and man could go home, back to the ground. The ground, that's the dream, but this is reality, and reality sucked for Katie Clancy.

It was nearly her eighteenth birthday, and up in the Skybox that only meant one thing: it was time to be executed for your crime. Rumor had it, they sometimes floated a prisoner before or after their birthday depending on their crimes.

So to be honest, she had been expecting the guards to come for a few days now. Katie wasn't scared anymore. She had had nearly a year to come to terms with it, and it was her own fault for getting caught anyhow.

Just then, the door to her cell was pushed open and two guards walked in, "Prisoner 118, get up, and face the wall," both of them commanded her.

"The word 'please' would have been nice," she muttered but followed their orders and stood up to face the concrete wall. "I mean I am about to die, it's the least you could do."

One of the guards let out a low laugh, "Change of plans, 156," he said, snapping something onto her wrist and making her flinch slightly.

"Come again?" She asked and looked over to see a metal bracelet clamped onto her arm, and two lights flashing on the side as the guard scanned it with some sort of activation device. There was the sound a hum starting up, and now she was really confused. "I'm not being floated?"

"Not today," the guard told her and grabbed her arm, and shoved her into the hallway.

She was even more confused. She had been on solitary lock up for the last ten months since her arrest. Why was she being let out in the day-to-day prisoner life now? That was when Katie noticed that many of the other prisoners were also being dragged through the hall, all with the same bracelet clamped to their wrist, but not every single one of the prisoners was being taken from their cells.

"What is happening? Where are you taking us?" She asked, her voice a little frantic as her heartrate picked up.

"You are the prisoner here, 118. Shut up and stop asking questions," one of the guards said as they near a ship bay.

Soon she was shoved into what looked like a large makeshift metal ship and as she looked up, she noticed ladders that led up into the ship for different levels. There were at least a hundred other kids around her age and younger strapped into what looked like seats, but she didn't exactly want to sit in one of them just yet. Were they going to kill them all like this and are just telling them they aren't?

Wasn't she supposed to see her parents one last time?

"The Ark Princess has arrived!" One of the prisoners, a girl's voice, hollered from the second level.

"Where are you taking me? I want to see my father," she said as the guard nearest to her shoved her toward the closest seat. "What is going on?"

"Get in your seat, 118," the guard muttered and she paused to give him a dirty look over her shoulder, and he immediately backed off.

Rookies, she thought wryly, even they still knew who she was.

"Aw, she thinks her daddy can save her! He threw you away like the rest of us, Princess." Another person shouted as Katie slid into the seat and pulled the strap across her chest.

She tried her best to ignore what anyone else was shouting and just clicked the leather buckle, and once the guard was satisfied he walked away as the door sealed shut behind him. She must've been the last person brought aboard, and that would paint a target on her back, wherever they were headed.

Just then, a familiar male voice sounded over the speakers, "The hundred are on board and prepared for departure." Then the video started to play on a screen attached to the wall and she nearly burst into tears. It was her father giving a message to all of them, Jim Clancy, their chancellor. "Prisoners of the Ark, hear me now. As your Chancellor, I hope you will see this not only as a chance for you but as a chance for all of us on the Ark to someday come back to the ground."

She looked up, observing more around her. The dropship, like the Ark, had been cobbled together. Three levels stacked from largest to smallest. Right now, the dropship launched and soared, causing several people to scream, some even to cry in fear, and a few others to vomit from the motion sickness. They were in free fall, sparks becoming flames as the heat shield met the thickening atmosphere. She took her eyes from the windows and tried to focus on the message her dad was giving.

"You have just begun the descent into Earth's atmosphere. I won't lie. We have no idea what waits for you down there…" Her eyes fell shut at that. That wasn't going to win him any favors. It wasn't going to help her either. "If the odds of survival were better, we would have sent others. Frankly, we're sending you because your crimes have made you...expendable."

"Your dad's a dick, Clancy!" Someone agreed with her.

"If you do happen to survive, your crimes will be forgiven," her father spoke carefully, almost directly to her. "The records wiped clean."

"Yeah, right!" Someone yelled.

"Screw you, Chancellor!" Another person howled in anger.

A few other painful jabs were hurled her way at her father, but when the ship jerked everyone was silenced in fear and listened to Jim speak. She stopped listening and tried to focus on everyone around her without the sounds of their voices. Most were panicking while others were angry, and some just enjoying the thought of what Earth could be like.

She smiled at that. Her father had done this to save her. She knew that now. Jim would have never been able to forgive himself if he had to be the one to press the button and kill his own child for trying to save her mother's life. She still didn't know if the medicine she had stolen had worked.

Was her crime even worth it in the end?

"This is not, however, a waiver against future crimes once you are on the ground." Her father reminded them all. "While unsupervised, you will adhere to the laws of the Ark, or you will be punished under them. You have one job, ladies and gentlemen, one responsibility...stay alive. One month. That's how long it will take to be certain that it's safe for the rest of us to follow." Just then, another severe jolt opened a storage compartment. A few rolled maps spilled out, floating weightlessly overhead. "In the meantime, some of you may be tempted to strike out on your own. Don't. Your drop site has been carefully chosen and we aren't fully aware of what threats may be waiting for you one the ground.." Her father continued.

A face in the crowd dragged her attention away from the screen. A ruggedly handsome blond boy lit up when he saw the floating maps. "Oh, hell yes." The boy mumbled. With that, the boy drew a shiv from his boot and cut the straps of his harness, floating out of his chair and over towards her. "Looks like your dad floated me after all, Princess."

"Before the Last War, Mount Weather was a military base built within a mountain in order to shelter the government of the United States." Her father's voice caught her attention again and she tried to ignore the boy's taunting, hoping he would leave her alone. "...except no one ever made it there. According to the archive, it was to be stocked with enough non-perishables to sustain six hundred people for up to ten years. Because we could spare you no extra food, water, or medicine, you must immediately locate those supplies. We have stocked you with some things to help you set up some sort of camp life and spared your axes and other tools that may help you. There are several maps of the area as well."

The boy soon gave up on teasing her and launched himself throughout the ship, soaring exuberantly through the air to the delight of the rest of them. She knew this wasn't going to end well once they entered the atmosphere. He could die if he landed roughly enough.

"Spacewalker strikes again!" Someone cheered, making the blond boy laugh.

Spacewalker? Who was he?

Her mind quickly connected the dots and she remembered her father telling her about the infamous Ned Banks who had taken a fifteen-minute joyriding spacewalk and wasted a whole three months of their air supply. There was only so much of that left, and that must be another reason why her father was sending most of the adolescent criminals to the ground.

Katie watched him do a couple of backflips before she had the nerve to speak up. "Get back in your seat or you'll get yourself killed," she warned him, unimpressed.

Ned chuckled and pushed off the top of a seat to come back over toward her again. "Lighten up, Princess. You don't have to worry about me." He chuckled and placed his hands above his head to make it look like he was relaxing. "I think I am just fine where I am." The blond-haired boy pushed off one of the walls, ricocheting back and forth.

She leaned back in her seat and sighed, staying silent then. He was seemingly dumber than she had thought, as soon as the parachutes opened, he was screwed. Two more boys had quickly followed Ned's lead and cut free from their seats. Idiots. They were going to get hurt, even killed, but what was she going to do about it if they weren't going to listen to her? Besides as she saw it, that meant there were three fewer people to take up food on Earth.

Just then everything was drowned out by a huge crash as the ship jolted. The heat increased inside the small ship, and Katie knew they must be getting closer to their destination. Possibly entering the atmosphere."

"I cannot stress this strongly enough. Mount Weather is life." Her father's voice announced loudly.

"You should come down before the parachute deploys." She yelled at Ned. "All of you." She said to the other two. "Or you'll be dead."

Ned turned his attention to her slightly, but because he ignored her warning once again, so do the other two non-somersaulting floaters.

"It is from there, God willing, that the next age of man will begin...with you." Her father's voice cut through again. "Finally, I am sure you're wondering about those wristbands... I promise that they are not a punishment, but a lifeline. They are how we will know you are alive once you reach the ground and—" Her father's voice was cut off by the parachutes deploying.

"Get back in your seats," she yelled, hoping they would have time to grab onto something or get into their seats.

Sudden rapid deceleration ended all of the fun in an instant and this awful sound of tearing metal came from all around. The video monitors went all black and the lights throughout the ship flickered as she looked to see where the floaters had gone. She noticed in time that the two boys who had unbuckled after Ned slammed to the floor with bone-crushing force as the drop ship's shaking increased, but Ned had headed her warning and had enough brains to get back to his seat and rig his harness back together.

The two boys who had followed him were not so lucky and were killed instantly. She pulled against her seatbelt, attempting to help the unmoving bodies. The harnesses wouldn't release until they landed, she knew that, but she wished she had a shiv to break free as he had.

The kids screamed as the ship hurtled at neck-breaking speed towards the cloudy and bluish-green surface of the planet. Katie gripped the edges of her seat as the ship violently shook again, but this wasn't turbulence. It was something else. Hundreds of individual collisions and possibly trees slowing their descent. They were not yet on the ground.

Katie knew they must be nearing the landing from her knowledge of books, and then there was a gut-wrenching thud and shriek of metal as the ship gave one last shudder and stilled. The inside of the cabin smelled of smoke and exhaust, mixed with blood, sweat, and fear. But they were on the ground, she knew that. There were a few more terrifying seconds and… just silence.

"Listen… no machine hum." Someone a few seats over to the right of her said.

She was struck with surprise. It was the first time in her life that she had actually heard real, true silence. No machine humming or footsteps against the metal ground. Only complete and total silence. Finally, and all at once, the harnesses released. Everyone was still and quiet for a moment before a flurry of people crowded near the ramp.

Katie jumped up and started instantly for the boys lying on the floor as all of the people crowded by the exit, but they were already long gone. She knew from the way one boy's head was twisted completely around the wrong way, and the other had a large gash across his throat from where he had landed, but she had checked for a pulse anyway.

When she knew for sure that those boys were dead, she stood up and made her way toward the front of the ship. "Wait!" She yelled and hated the commotion as she shoved past people. "The air could be toxic still. What if we open the hatch and everyone dies?"

"We can't stay locked up in here anyways, Princess," a voice came from behind, the same one from before. She turned to see Ned standing behind her. His green eyes locked with hers, and there was a hint of a smile on his lips as he reached for the ramp released button. "What kind of plan do you have in mind?"

"I think we should take a minute to figure out what we want to do before we do it," she said, trying to shove his hand away. "What if the air is toxic? Have you thought about that?"

But it was too late, Ned pressed the red button and the drop ship's ramp slowly unfurled. She couldn't help but brace herself. Katie had grown up with people shoving the fact that the Earth was covered in radiation in her head from the time she could walk. She had no idea what to expect on the other side of that door, but she was definitely unprepared for what she was seeing.

Daylight streamed into the dropship and the sight of trees, actual living trees caught her breath, a breeze blowing her long hair back behind her shoulders. Katie hesitated, but just for a moment, before seizing her chance to make history. The ship had come to rest in the middle of a forest, fallen trees were everywhere, many still smoldering. Taking everything in, she finally jumped off the ship, and before anyone else could. She was the first person on the ground in nearly two hundred years.

It was the first time they had ever touched anything but metal. The sun sent warmth all over her skin and the scent of real, fresh air filled her lungs. The sight of so much color made her want to melt. It made her happy. She was happy. Something in her head told her that soon reality would crash down, but for these few moments, the fact that she was alive on the ground was a dream come true.

Neil Armstrong had nothing on her.

* * *

Melinda had been pacing the length of her living room for the last three hours. Once that became too stressful to her she went into the kitchen and made herself some tea. Ever since she had felt the entire Ark jolt and knew that the ship had left with her daughter on it, she couldn't sit still. Not until she knew that her daughter was alive and on the ground.

Even with all of the frightening things that the council had learned may be down there, she had a string of hope inside her wishing for her daughter to find something good down there. Katie was smart and quick-minded, and she would be fine, Melinda told herself.

She expected the knock as it sounded on the cabin door; Jim always did that on his way inside to let her know that he was home. He had called her on his way from his office to tell her that he would be done with the day soon, and would have more information for her then. Clearly, something had happened.

"In the kitchen," she said, stirring honey into her tea as she heard Jim step inside and close the door behind him. She could see him out of the corner of her eye, but she was too worried to face him. "How was your day?"

"The usual," he said, walking up behind her.

A set of solid, muscular arms wrapped around her, startling her a bit. It didn't take long for her brain to catch up to what was happening and she settled into the hold. "Did you get to see her?" She asked as she brought a hand up to run through his hair as his face settled into the warm spaced between her shoulder and neck.

"No. I didn't," he sighed, placing a kiss to her neck. "I ended up being too busy. I should have made time in case something happens. I should have." He leaned up against the counter beside her and took hold of her hand, bringing it to his mouth as he pressed a chaste kiss there. "But she's alive," he told her.

"She is?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Yes, and they have landed on the ground." He explained, turning toward her. "That's all I really know. One of the 100 has died already, but everyone else is still okay. Their vitals from their bracelets show excitement, happiness even. The ground must be habitable enough, and the one life lost must've been from landing troubles. Hopefully, no one was hurt too badly."

She nodded, sighing in relief. "So she's okay?"

"For now," he said, smiling sadly. "But what if I sealed her fate? What if I sealed all of theirs by sending them down there?"

"But if Katie had stayed on the Ark…" She tried to remind him.

He sighed, nodding. "I know," he closed his eyes and a tear escaped after a long day of pent up emotion. "I could never let her die to save your life, Melinda. Never."

She shook her head and moved over to lean into his embrace. "I should have never let her sacrifice everything for me. I should have known that she was going to do it, Jim. I should have stopped her."

His arms wound around her and held her close. "Hey, how could you know that she would do that?" He whispered.

"Jim, she is my daughter. I should have known," her voice shook with emotion as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I would have done the same thing for her or for you."

He chuckled, rubbing his hand against her back to soothe her in any way possible. "I know you would, but I have enough to worry about with our daughter trying to survive on the ground, Mel," he said as he pressed a kiss to her forehead and sighed. "And I don't want you to blame yourself for any of this Melinda. If it's anyone's fault it's mine, and if I had known…" He trailed off into a sigh and rubbed his face warily.

"If you had known what?" She asked.

"I put the idea in her head about stealing the medication…" He whispered, trailing off and shaking his head. "But I never thought she would do it. I had just voiced aloud to myself that I could steal the medication and get away with it. I hadn't known she was home… and she had said she could steal it too, but I thought I talked her down."

"Katie has always had a mind of her own. If she wanted to do something then she was going to, Jim," she started to laugh and wiped away her tears.

He nodded and sighed. "I know that. We raised to be her own person and to never let anyone tell her otherwise." He led her from the kitchen and they sat on the couch together.

"Yeah," she chuckled and followed him, relaxing beside him. "I think that kind of backfired on us."

"No, it didn't." He said, placing his arm around her shoulder. "We raised a strong, kind-hearted woman and I am proud of that."

And with that they leaned back they let silence fill the air and took in the sight of what was below them. The blinding green and blue of Earth were mesmerizing to see even if it was the only thing anyone could see around them, and it left a sense of calm over them to know their daughter was down there.

Katie was one of the first people to set foot on to ground again, and even if for the reasons behind it they were happy that she was safer down there today than she would have been on the Ark.

* * *

The first thing Katie felt was sunlight on her face and the feel of a breeze against the cheeks. Then she breathed in the air. The real air, fresh and pure, and clean for the first time in her life. It was the most amazing experience she had ever felt.

She heard the screams and shouts of the other people around her and she knew that they were feeling it too. They had scattered in different directions, yelling and jumping around in jubilee. Katie turned back to the dropship where only four people were left.

They were crowded around something, and when Ned turned around, she realized it was a map. He must be trying to figure out where her father had said their supplies would be and she began to walk toward the group, but then felt a hand on her arm.

"Come in the dropship. I want to speak with you," Katie recognized that voice anywhere.

"Toby," she hissed and spun around, planting a fist firmly across his face. "This is ALL your fault, you son of a bitch!"

Toby rolled back on his feet, but before Katie could hit him again, another pair of arms wrapped around her and dragged her in the direction of the dropship. They entered inside and went immediately toward the back.

"Let go of me!" She spat and the person released her.

"Hey, I just wanted to stop you before you did something you regret," the person said, and that was when Katie realized it was Ned.

She recognized all the people that were gathered around the map as people she had grown up with. Each had committed their own crime to get sent here, and here they were together again. Landon, Toby, and Hannah were all pointing at different places on the map when Ned hit his fist on the wall to catch her attention.

"What the hell were you doing?" Ned asked her.

She caught her breath and ignored Ned's question as she focused her gaze on Toby again. "You," she muttered.

"Katie, listen—" Toby started.

"Don't you dare say my name, you fucking coward," she yelled, attempting to launch herself at him but Ned's grip on her was strong and she wasn't budging. "Fight your own battles, Toby. Don't have someone else pull me off of you."

"Hey!" Ned yelled, slightly pushing her up against the wall in case she got any idea to try and go after Toby again. He didn't have a tight enough grip on her to hurt her, but he wasn't letting her budge any more than he wanted her to. "Calm down, Princess. What's wrong?"

She shoved him away with a dark scowl. "It's none of your goddamn business, Banks." She muttered under her breath. "This is between Toby and me."

"She's a criminal," Landon spoke up, who had been watching the exchange with his arms folded.

"News flash, fuckhead," she hissed, unable to control what she was feeling at this point. "We all are criminals here. The only difference between me and any of the rest of you was that I was trying to save my mother's life, and this guy is the reason I got caught."

Ned looked back at her, frowning but agreeing. "Yeah, Lan. What makes her any different?"

"She's a murderer. That's what," Landon declared from his side of the ship.

"Oh, please. Is that what they are saying about me around the Ark?" She sneered and rolled her eyes as she glanced back at Toby. "The only crime I committed was trusting this fool to keep a secret."

"I'm sorry, Katie. I had to tell my dad that I saw you take the medication." Toby sighed, shaking his head in shame. "I couldn't… I just couldn't keep that secret for you. Even if it was to save your mom. Do you realize what it cost me?"

"You turned yourself in," she chuckled. "That's not my fault that you implicated yourself."

"It's not a crime to steal another person's medication?" Landon was up from his seat and Toby had to hold him back, but he broke free and shoved Ned out of his way too so he could pin her against the wall himself. He was much rougher and she knew that she would have a bruise on her back from the way he had shoved her up against the metal. "What right do you have to play God?"

"My mother was dying and I did what I had to do," she said and shook her head at him. "You don't get to judge me."

"Yeah, and what about the person who's medication you stole? What about them?" Landon stood in front of her, finger pressed into her chin to lift it. "You killed my dad when you stole that dose, and for what? So your rich, privileged mother could live? Why does she get to live and not my father?"

"I didn't know about your father, Landon, and I am sorry that he died," she said softly and shoved him off of her. "I am sorry, but I wouldn't change my decision. I needed to save my mother, and I did what I had to do. There should have been more medication, and then I wouldn't have had to steal it. But we have bigger problems to figure out than the things that happened back on the Ark. My father said supplies would be on Mount Weather." She walked over to the map and looked over it quickly. "That's right there, and we were dropped here. There is a radiation-soaked forest between us and our next meal. We are looking at a twenty-some-mile trek, okay? So if we wanna make it back before dawn we need to leave now."

"I hate to say it, but the Chancellor's daughter is right here. I already want food," Ned said, an amused smirk appearing on his face as he looked over her.

What was he looking at? Why was he looking at her like that? She stared up at him in confusion, "What?"

"I think it's hot when a woman takes charge," he said, smirking.

She rolled her eyes. "Buck up, Ned. I don't want to be the one in charge here." She scoffed. "We need to get going."

"I've got a better idea," Landon said, raising his voice so the rest of the people could hear him. "You two go." He gestured to her and Toby. "Find it for us. Let the privileged do the hard work for a change instead of the rest of us."

"Yeah, let's have two people try to carry enough food and supplies for what, the hundred of us? How long do you think we'll last without those supplies? That is such a smart idea," she shook her head and walked over Ned. "Are you in?"

"Look, everyone, Chancellor of the Earth. Just like her father," Landon taunted and Ned couldn't help the laugh that escaped his mouth. "I should have known when my birthday passed and they didn't float me that your father was planning something worse for me. I was right."

"You think that's funny?" She spat, and the next thing she knew Landon had her pinned her against the wall. "Do you get your kicks out roughing up girls?"

"Maybe your father wasn't so smart to send you down here with a bunch of... dirty criminals," Landon chuckled, biting his lip as he grabbed a handful of her ass and there wasn't anything she could do with her arms pinned. "He might have saved his little girl from being floated, just another thing to add to the list of your privileges, but he can't save you from doing what I want to do to you…"

She had only now noticed the dropship had cleared out, and she was alone with Landon. There was nothing she could to stop him. She had never needed anyone to fight her battles until today.

"Landon, please... don't," she begged, hoping that maybe it would appeal to his emotions in some way.

"Why not?" Landon chuckled, pressing as close to her as he could. "You still a virgin, princess?"

"Stop it," she whimpered, and just when she thought it was going to get worse, it didn't.

"Huh. Yeah, Lan?" Ned reappeared and she caught his gaze. "You should probably think about that, man."

"What do you care if I ruffle Clancy's feathers?" Landon spat, turning to glare at the boy as he interrupted him. She did everything she could to plead with her gaze to him to not leave her alone. God, please don't leave her alone with him. "Her father floated my mother and let her kill my father. I say it's payback. I'll give you a turn after if you want."

"Oh, you see here Landon, I don't have to rape girls to get my dick wet." Ned's hand was pressing down on his shoulder. "Unlike you." Without another thought, the boy in front of her let go and lunged after Ned, but missed and slammed himself into a wall. "You are only going to go and do all the work for me by doing that, you know."

Landon tried to swing at him, but he dodged and caught his fist, twisting his arm and shoving him out of the ship as quickly he could. A moment later he returned and held his hand out to her. "You okay?"

"As much as I can be," she sighed. "Thank you."

"Any time, Princess." He nodded. "You want to go find those supplies to clear your mind?"

She wanted to do anything, and finding food and water sounded like a good enough distraction.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I always try to have two chapters written when I publish a story to start things off strong :) Enjoy! xx Mariah

**Jim — 42**   
**Melinda — 42**   
**Andrea — 42**   
**Eli — 32**   
**Landon - 18**   
**Katie — 17**   
**Ned — 17**   
**Toby — 17**   
**Jasper — 17**   
**Hannah — 15**

* * *

As Ned and Katie exited the dropship, she noticed something. The hundred have spread out amid the trees all around the incongruously located ship. For the most part, girls and boys are separate, but there was more subtle segregation on which of the Ark's stations a person came from. Station rivalries could possibly make cooperation impossible if it ran that deep, which for some people she knew it did.

"We need to find a good group of people together," she told Ned as they sat down on the dropship's door, their feet dangling over into the soil. "Maybe five or six people. Do you trust anyone from the SkyBox that came down with us?"

"I know Jasper," he said, pointing to a boy who was being hugged tightly by a younger-looking girl. "Don't worry about them being a couple or that being a problem, that's his sister. They haven't seen each other since she was arrested last year."

She nodded and sighed in relief. She did not want to invite a couple that hadn't seen each other in forever along on this kind of trek. "Okay. Anyone else?"

"Don't you know anyone from your time locked up?" He asked.

She shook her head. "I was in solitary the whole time. Probably to keep what happened with Landon from happening to me," she sighed. "A lot of people resent my father for calls he had to make."

Ned nodded. "It's a hard job to be the Chancellor, but I always thought it would have been harder to be his family. They get the brute of anger from people when it wasn't your choice to be born into it all." He explained, shrugging. "Just like it isn't anyone's choice what station they were born on, but some people care about that too."

Toby came striding over from the side of the ship then, interrupting their conversation. "We've got problems," Toby said, sitting down next to Ned when she glared at him. "The communication system is dead. I went to the roof and a dozen or so panels were missing. Heat fried the wires."

"Right now all that matters is getting to Mount Weather," she said, clearly irritated that Toby was there as she looked over a map that she unrolled in her hands. She tapped the spot on the map where lines intersect, "This is us." Then she pointed to the peak. "This is where we need to be if we want to survive." Toby went on to say something, but she didn't hear him. She didn't want to. "Let me get something straight, okay? I don't like you and I will never forgive you for what you did to me, and I would like it if you left me alone, okay?"

She took that as her time to leave. She stood up and walked over to Jasper and his sister that Ned had pointed out to her. Jasper was a skinny Asain boy with nice eyes, who was resting against a tree with a pretty, blonde girl beside him.

"Hey, I'm Katie." She said, sitting down next to them.

"We know you are," said. "I'm Jasper, this is my sister Hannah."

"Nice to meet you. Ned actually just told me who you are, and I was actually looking for some volunteers to collect supplies," she suggested.

"We're on the ground," Hannah interrupted her. "That's not good enough for you, Chancellor's daughter?"

She sighed and let her eyes fall closed. "Look, we don't need to be hostile to each other. We need to find Mount Weather." She said to the gathering crowd around them. "You heard my father's message. That has to be our first priority or we will die."

"When do we leave?" Jasper asked, pushing off the tree and looking at his sister, who was ready to object.

"Right now," she said.

Hannah shrugged. "We're in, I guess," Hannah said. "Let's try to see if any more people want to tag along."

"Agreed," she said and set out to ask the people around them.

* * *

Jim paced the length of the room he was in. He had been staring at reports and at different monitors with vital signs of the hundred juvenile prisoners he had sent down to the ground, but the one he was worried about most was the one he found himself staring at.

Melinda was beside him, watching Katie's heart rate, knowing that as long as they saw that they knew their daughter was alive.

"So what more do we know in the time since the hundred landed on the ground?" He asked the men and women who had been assigned to man the mission when he wasn't there to oversee it.

"We know they have landed, and a bit off-course, but we knew this could happen." A woman spoke up, and he turned to see it was one of his wife's close friends, Andrea. "We supplied the hundred with several maps of the area to help them know their surroundings."

"Anything else, Andrea?" He asked.

"There is one problem. The communications systems we placed in the dropship are down and we cannot contact them," Andrea said, glancing over her notes. "The system must have fried off during the dissent which means we are blind to conditions on the ground, but thanks to Dr. James' wristbands we at least know how the conditions are affecting the human body. Which is more than we have ever known in over a hundred years."

"What are they telling us, Eli?" He asked.

"We know for now that there are two dead kids," Dr. Eli James spoke up, a first-year medical apprentice from station two. "See the dark tiles?"

"That isn't new information. I knew this a half an hour ago when they landed," he said. "Anything new?"

"Of course." Dr. James cleared his throat and walked over to him. "Granted, they have only been on the ground about an hour, but as of now, I believe the fatalities were due to a rough landing. Not radiation levels on the ground. Both boys died at the same time we lost contact with the dropship."

"That's your theory?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"The dots connect, sir," Dr. James replied.

"I see a lot of red up there on the board. What does that mean?" he said, glancing at Katie's to see her screen lit up red too. "Could you say it's radiation, Eli?"

"Red screens mean spiking vital signs," Dr. James said calmly as he looked over his paperwork in front of him. "There are two possibilities, Chancellor. One, injuries sustained during landing."

He and Melinda had made eye contact then and he'd stepped closer to her, placing his hand on her shoulder and hoping that would relax them both some. "And the other?" He asked, warily.

"They are excited to be on the ground," Dr. James said with a slight chuckle.

He released a laugh as well, and the room felt lighter than it had before. "Let's hope for the best," he said, nodding. "Good work, everyone. If anything changes I want to know immediately."

"Yes, sir." Was repeated around the room and everyone went back to work.

Jim felt some of the tension in his back release, but not enough of it. He was still too worried about his little girl, and his wife. "Hey, darlin'... how's Katie?"

"Her vital signs are strong," Melinda said, leaning into his embrace and tucking his arms around her waist.

"Good," he said, pressing a kiss to her neck.

"But her blood sugar is low," she sighed. "She hasn't eaten yet."

He nodded. "They should soon. There are enough provisions on Mount Weather to last them until we send more folks down. We just need to know if it is safe."

"But they landed off course, Jim," she shook her head. "What if they don't find them?"

"They landed in what used to be the upper part of the state called Georgia," he said, pulling a guide book off of the nearest table. "There should be plenty of game to hunt or fish if needed. Even deer, rabbits, fox, and all kinds of fish."

"What about freshwater? She is starting to dehydrate, Jim." She sighed.

"If you keep staring at that all day then, of course, you are going to worry," he reminded her as he slowly turned her around. "Katie will figure it out, okay? She is one of the smartest kids I know. Mount Weather is only a bit of a trek from where they landed."

"Yeah," she said, trying to smile a little. "I know, but she's still our daughter and I will always worry about her."

He nodded and pulled her in for a hug. "Me too, Mel," he sighed.

* * *

They were several hours into the trek and Katie's feet were killing her, but she would never complain. She was not that kind of person. She wasn't going to let a little ache stop her from an adventure. She did, however, want to stab Toby for tagging along and wanted sucker-punch Ned for allowing him to.

Instead, she had tried to fill her attention with all that was new around her. Wildflowers covered the bushes and every now and then she stopped to examine the different colored ones. Her mother would love them, she thought as she took in their earthy powdered-like smell.

It almost reminded her of Melinda's perfume, but not in the same way, and she sighed as she glanced up at the clear sky. She caught sight of the moving satellite above. The large shining light in the sky that moved as the planet turned. The Ark station.

Ned had assumed the lead and was setting a fast pace appreciating little of what was around him. Half of her really wanted him to slow down so they could all enjoy the amazing scenery, but she knew they couldn't waste that kind of time.

Specifically, they didn't exactly know where they were going and once it was dark, they would have to make camp alone and separated from the rest of the Hundred, and that wasn't what any of them wanted to do unless it was necessary.

One thing Katie had learned from the several hours they'd been walking was that Jasper and Hannah were far from delinquents. They were clearly both very smart, and actually pretty good at telling jokes. They tended to butt heads a lot, but they were close in age and brother and sister. Katie had always wanted a little sister, but she had been an only child her whole life.

"Hey! Try to keep up!" Ned said, looking back at them from a good distance away.

"Come on, Ned. Look around you," she said, looking up at all the trees. "How can you block all of this out?"

Ned turned and scratched an X into the nearest tree with his shiv, marking their pathway as he had the entire way. "It's simple. Have you noticed that we haven't seen any animals, princess? Instead of blindly enjoying the view I keep wondering why and think it could be because there isn't any. Or worse, we've ingested enough radiation to die just like they had too. It sure is prettier than the Ark station, though."

With that, he continued his pace onward and they all followed, their buzz sufficiently killed. Toby continued to try to talk to her, to apologize, but after one particular harsh glare he finally shut up. Soon enough they noticed Ned was holding up his hand for them to halt and shut up.

"No animals, huh?" She whispered as she walked quietly up to Ned to get a better look. "See, we aren't officially dead just yet."

It was the first sign of life other than the insects and plants they had seen around the forest.

Ned took one step closer and stepped on a stick, and the animal turned and looked up, revealing that it had two heads. Hannah almost screamed, but Jasper covered her mouth just in time and the deer still ran off.

* * *

Katie, now, had the lead. The swaying of her body mesmerized Ned as he tried to follow behind her without getting distracted. It wasn't as easy as thought it was going to be, and he could tell that Toby didn't like it either.

"So what's going on between you the Chancellor's daughter?" He asked, wanting to know if he had any real shot at being with her or if it was just all in his head, but Toby didn't even grace him with a reply. The tall, skinny boy just sneered and rolled his eyes. "So… she broke up with you then."

"I can hear you," Katie said. "And I don't like being called that."

"Fine, princess it is then," he said, licking his lips as he glanced over the curve of that ever so perfect ass that her jeans hugged. "Are you going to tell me what's going on between you and string bean here?"

"You heard what I said to him before. He turned me in, and even if he turned himself in to feel less guilty I won't forgive him! I would have rather my father left you up there to be floated," she yelled, making sure to pointedly glare over her shoulder at Toby, who further separated himself from the group afterward.

He chuckled at the misery of Toby who had obviously done her so wrong that Katie felt the need to remind him of it whenever she wanted to. "Ahh, I won't question you any more about him then. Unless you want me to, princess."

She glanced over at him. "Please, don't." She sighed.

"You what I'd like to know?" He asked, nudging her a little. "Why send us down today, after all this time? What changed?"

"Who cares?" Hannah yelled. "I am just glad they did. I woke up rotting in a cell and now I am here, with my brother again, and spinning around in an actual forest. Would you have rather been floated?"

"I am just curious," he shrugged and glanced around the forest. "Why do you think your father sent us all down here? Was it just to save your pretty head?"

"And here I thought we were getting along, Spacewalker," she scoffed, taking offense at what he said. "I doubt my father would send us all down here just to keep me alive though I am grateful for it. I knew what I was getting myself into when I broke the Ark laws just like the rest of us in the Skybox."

She explained and his hands shot up in defense.

He tried to keep the tension light between them by chuckling, but she still looked annoyed with him.. "I am sorry if I touched a chord, princess. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." He replied.

"You didn't. I just don't appreciate it when people try to assume things about my father," she corrected him and turned to look at him. "Now about your question before. I think my father sent us down here because the Ark is dying. There are roughly six months left of life support and air supply if my math is right from when I was arrested, maybe seven or eight now that we are gone." Katie explained, in the same kind of calm manner he remembered her father speaking in. "Now, I don't want you to panic or worry too much. I don't think we should tell the rest of them back at camp, but I am trusting you with this information. My father will figure out a way to try and save everyone."

"What? Are you sure?" Hannah asked. "There is no way to fix it?"

Ned's heart dropped and he looked up at the sky, spotting the shining light in the sky from the Ark station. His family was up there. His mom and his sister. What about all the rest of the people? And the kids? There were a million questions running through his mind all at once.

Katie nodded soberly, a blank yet sad look on her face. "It's why so many people have begun to get sick. The air quality has only gotten worse and has led to many complications healthwise for many of the Ark residents." She explained. "Anyway, that's why today. It wasn't just to save my life, and that's why it was worth the risk. Even if we all die, at least they bought themselves some more time."

Toby looked like he just saw a ghost. "They're just going to kill more people, aren't they? If Earth still isn't safe, they have to, won't they?"

Katie nodded again. "They will probably start by floating the rest of the juveniles that committed serious charges. At least, I am assuming my father didn't send murderers and rapists down with us. Though, Landon sure tested that boundary today already."

He hated himself for almost leaving her alone with Landon, but he had stopped it. That meant more than something to her, right? "We have to warn them," he said, glancing back over at her. "They deserve to know."

"That's what my father wanted to do, but the council voted against it. My mother voted against it. That was the last thing I remember happening before she got sick." She responded and shook her head. "Okay, enough. I need to clear my head." She turned and started walking again, but this time up to the river's edge and began to peel her clothes off.

He stopped dead in his tracks, watching as Katie stripped her jeans off and down to just her underwear, and silently declared that he loved Earth. She took an eager step toward the edge of the rock she was standing on and then suddenly plunged out of view.

Confusion and panic take over the group as they all run to the rock's edge to see where Katie had jumped down too. About fifteen feet down was a still body of water that cuts through the forest like a river or even a lake.

"Katie, what are you doing? Can you swim?" He asked, worried that she might drown or worse.

Was there something worse than drowning?

"Wow, my real name for a change sounds nice on your lips, Ned Banks." She teased him once she resurfaced, splashing water at him as she stood up, the water clearly only about to her hips. "For your information, no, I cannot swim, but I can stand."

All of them immediately started stripping their clothes, except Toby. "C'mon, live a little." He suggested.

"I'm fine staying dry." The boy sat on the edge of the rock, examining the map. "There is no river on this map. We must be going the wrong way." Toby said, holding the paper to the sun.

"No, we're not," he said, looking up to see a man-made structure, the wreckage of one anyway, above the threes on the horizon. Still too far away to be sure, but possibly an old guard tower. "Mount Weather ist just beyond that old watchtower, at least, I would guess," he said and let out a sigh in relief, and just as he made his way to jump in the water as Katie had, he froze. "Hey, Princess!"

"And to think I got used to the idea of you saying my actual name," she sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Get out of the water!" He shouted and pointed at a long-black shadow about a hundred yards away from Katie.

She slowly turned around to see what he was looking at, and his eyes were stuck on a long dark shadow rocketing toward Katie. It could be a crocodile. Or a giant snake.

Of course, it was possible that a hundred years of marinating in radiation had created something else entirely like the two-headed deer they had seen before. Whatever it was, it was fast, aggressive, and… hungry.

"KATIE, GET OUT OF THE WATER NOW!" He screamed.

Before Katie could get to the shore, the creature struck, violently taking her under the water and dragging her away. "Aahh!" She screamed.

"No," he said and raced to pull his pants off as quickly as he could. "No... no…fuck!"

Ned wanted to rush into the water after her the second she got closer to him because right now she was out of reach and he didn't trust himself to know how to swim well enough if the bottom dropped off.

Fighting wildly, she broke the surface screaming, before being sucked back down again. The whole group raced along the rock's edge, fifteen feet above, desperate to keep her in their sight.

"What the hell is it?" Jasper yelled.

Before anyone could venture a guess, he moved forward to jump into the water. He was going in after her. He didn't care if he didn't know how to swim anymore.

"Ned, no!" Toby yelled, grabbing his arm. "What are you going to do? You are stupid to just go running in there."

"I am going to try to not get eaten. Someone has to save her," he said and with that, he dove down into the water.

The shadow released Katie and whipped around to check out the threat.

"Katie, get to the edge!" Hannah screamed, pointing to the riverbank.

"Ned, it's coming!" Jasper warned him. "Get out of the water!"

Ned saw this and jumped out of the water in time, but the looming shadow shot back out and drug Katie back under the water.

This time, he had an idea. He shoved the nearest boulder off and into the water, and just like before the shadow shot off the check out the threat. This time, Ned dove into the water and was able to get to Katie in time, pulling her back ashore with him.

"I got you," he said, using the brute of his strength as he pulled her onto the lower bank, scrambling out beside her just as the malevolent shadow rockets past. "I got you, Katie. Don't worry."

She then collapsed into his arms, leaning back against his chest. "Thank you, Ned," she said breathlessly. "Thank you."

"Note to self: next time, save the girl," Toby mumbled.

"One good thing about outer-space. There are no giant mutant river snakes," Hannah said laughing uneasily.

Everyone laughed, even Katie, though just barely.

"Help Ned get her up here. I need to take a look at the cut on her leg from the river monster," Toby said, instructing Jasper and Hannah to help him bring her further up the warm rocks by the river.

They all helped pick Katie up and Toby took the time to clean and dress the gash on her thigh. When it came time to wrap the wound, Ned took the shirt off his back to tear enough fabric for her, and Toby began his work.

It had felt like no big deal to him, but when he caught the sight of her eyes lingering over him, he couldn't help but praise himself for doing it so easily. He hadn't wanted to take advantage of her. He never wanted to make her feel that she needed to repay him for anything he had done because he would have done it for anyone, but in the back of his mind, he knew he probably wouldn't have risked his life as willingly for anyone else.

Then his eyes went across the river, toward the wreckage of the tower was now a silhouette of the setting sun amid the trees. "The sun is setting," he said.

"We will cross at first light. Let's make camp," Toby said, making up his mind that they need to rest instead of reaching their end goal tonight.

* * *

Katie couldn't sleep. She wasn't sure if it was the change of atmosphere or the weird noises she could hear all around her or even the emptiness of her stomach, but either way, she was not sleeping tonight. Or at least not for a while.

She sighed and sat up, leaning against the nearest tree for support. While her leg hadn't been injured much and could still walk if she was leaning on someone for support, the cut from the river monster's teeth had torn her skin open and that was painful enough too

She looked around the small makeshift camp of the group she was traveling with, and all but one were sleeping. Ned was awake and tending to the small fire that was still burning low. She was about to try and get up on her own, but he must have noticed her struggling and came to help her.

"You could have shouted for me," he said and swung her up into his arms, his arm underneath her knees as he carried her over to sit beside the fire. "I would have come over to help you sooner."

She had to withhold herself from making some snarky comment mostly because she had only ever seen her father pick her mother up like that before, and she wasn't sure how she felt about Ned doing that for her. "I didn't want to wake anyone up," she replied. "You didn't have to carry me. I can walk."

"Barely," he said, shaking his head. "You need to try and stay off at that leg if you want to be up and walking normally again. Have you had something to eat?"

She was so hungry, and the idea of any food sounded amazing to her. "You found food?" She asked, laughing in excitement.

"What do you know? She can laugh," he said, rummaging through a makeshift bag they had brought with made from a parachute. He pulled out a soft, round, slightly furry fruit with a sweet-smelling yellow flesh and pinky-orange skin. "We did find a little bit, but not much. We found some fruit while you were resting before. Here. Try it."

She went to take it from him, but he held it to her mouth instead. "Is that a peach?" She asked.

"Try it, Katie," he repeated and held it closer to her lips.

Her teeth sliced through the skin as her mouth moved forward. They smell as they taste; tangy and sweet, the flavors dancing over her tongue in swirling crescendo.

She had never tasted anything so good or as naturally sweet before. Biting into the soft flesh felt distinct, as skin peeled away to show the smooth, slippery fruit within.

When she bit the peach, she lifted her eyes, and when she lifted her eyes, she saw him. A runnel of juice ran down her chin, and Ned's finger shot out to catch it.

His eyes were on her as she smiled like a child caught spoiling her supper, her mouth full of peach and peach juice and her own peach-glowing skin. When she pulled away, he gave the fruit to her then, and she could have sworn she saw a blush on his cheeks as he turned.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna be honest this is a lot of Jim and Melinda fluff and smut while they worry about Katie on the Ark after the events at the end of the last chapter. So in all, it's mostly just a great and hot scene to catch Jimel up to speed before going back to the ground to pick up with Katie, Ned and the rest of the crew I've named down there so far.
> 
> I hope you are all enjoying this! xx Mariah

**For reference: It has been two days since the drop ship launched by the end of the chapter :) and as usual, I'll put the ages of all named characters so far :) Enjoy! xx Mariah**

**Jim — 42**  
**Melinda — 42**  
**Andrea — 42**  
**Eli — 32**  
**Landon — 18**  
**Katie — 17**  
**Ned — 17**  
**Toby — 17**  
**Jasper — 17**  
**Hannah — 15**

* * *

Melinda had felt as though she hadn't slept right since the day Katie was arrested, but it had only gotten worse since she had found out about the mission to send the juvenile prisoners to the ground, and even more so when Katie made it there.

She tossed and turned about in bed, having kicked the sheets and blankets from her. She didn't have to worry about waking Jim because he hadn't come to bed yet, and after a few hours of trying to fall asleep alone she moved out of bed.

Melinda dressed as quickly as she could and walked through the Ark. Most of the citizens were asleep, but some were up and roaming about, most likely for the same reasons she was. She, however, was on a mission to find her husband and bring him to bed with her.

She found him exactly where she had left him, inside mission control, staring at the many screens of vital charts of the hundred kids on the ground.

Ninety-seven kids now, she noticed, seeing that one more had fallen.

"Talk to me, Jim," she said, sliding her arm around him. "What has you awake?"

"Rumors are spreading," he said, looking up from his paperwork with a sigh. "Witnesses have begun whispering about seeing a dropship launch. It's only a matter of time until they figure out that we sent the hundred to the ground."

"Let the council worry about the people, Jim," she reminded him. "We have things in place for damage control. I need you to worry about re-establishing communication with those kids."

"I know. We are working on it," he sighed. "But one more of them has died, most-likely from injuries sustained during landing. We can't tell for sure yet."

None of that mattered to her as she glanced over at Katie's prisoner ID photo on the screen. "How's our girl?" She asked.

"Katie's doing fine," he explained, and as she noticed his tone he'd stepped toward her. Something was wrong, and as he grabbed her hand she knew it had to do with their daughter. "Better than before, but we think she may have been injured. Her vital signs spiked about six hours ago for a bit, and it was the same way it would for pain response from an injury, but not in the way it would for radiation."

"Oh," she tried not to let this sit inside her and fester, but all she could think about was her daughter being hurt and in pain, and all alone down there. "What do you think happened?"

"We're not exactly sure, but she's doing better. She wasn't hurt in the landing that we know of, but it could be a late effect to a head injury or she could've twisted her ankle." He was trying to explain this all to her as simply as he could she knew that, but she could tell that he was hiding the truth from her.

He didn't think it was either of those things for why Katie was injured and neither did she, only she didn't know why and he possibly did.

"I don't want you to worry, Melinda. She's eaten a little and even found some fresh water, and is resting now, see?" His hand pointed to her vitals and the resting heart rate and blood pressure. In the next moment, he embraced her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Her blood pressure and resting heart rate are a little high for my liking, but that's normal when recuperating from minor injuries. She could have twisted her ankle running as I said before…"

She wanted to keep positive like he was trying to, at least for her own sake, but she couldn't. Not when there was clear proof telling her otherwise. "Or she could've been stabbed by one of the other ninety-six people down there with her for being the Chancellor's daughter," she muttered.

He sighed and held her tighter in his embrace and she tried to relax into him and forget it all, but she couldn't keep her head from turning to look back over at her daughter's face. How badly was Katie hurt? Would she ever see her again?

He tried to calm her, but it wasn't working. "That is the worst-case scenario, Melinda, and she has Toby with her," he whispered into her ear, then pulling back to look at her. "He wouldn't let her get hurt like that."

She knew Toby to be a good boy and proved that when he implicated himself along with Katie for stealing that damned medication. She knew Katie had acted alone and never would have asked someone to break the law for her, but Toby couldn't live with the idea of turning her in alone so he had turned himself as well.

While it had taken her this long to think about it all like that she knew that the boy had to have the best intentions even if it backfired.

"Yeah, I guess that's true. She has Toby with her, so that leaves ninety-five other possible people that may want to hurt her for something you might have done to their family," she tried to keep herself calm and worry-free as Jim had just told her to be, but it wasn't that easy. Even if it wasn't helping her at all and she was only falling deeper down into the rabbit hole. "Enough of my rambling, will you come back with me?"

He sighed and turned to look back over his paperwork as he released her from their hug. "Melinda, I have a lot of work—"

She squeezed his arm and pleaded to him without words at first but her actions. She pressed her face into his shoulder and sighed. "Please, Jim, I can't fall asleep without you, and I already tried tonight," she said as his head turned and she caught sight of those blue, blue eyes that she loved so much. "Please?"

He nodded, pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Let's go to bed then," he said, leading her from the command center and through the engineering station. Her husband made a quick right, a known short-cut to those who lived in station three and slid his access card to get inside their housing unit quickly.

It excited her to be alone with him, even with so much on her mind. She had to keep telling herself that Katie would be okay. Their daughter had so many possible threats coming at her, but she had eaten, she had water, and was resting.

Tomorrow would be a new day.

It had all been too much and her hands landed on the muscles she was admiring, nails raking down until they teased at the hem of his shirt. She teased her husband by only slightly sliding her hands against the skin beneath his shirt, admiring the line of short hairs trailing downward against his muscled stomach.

"I want you, Jim," she leaned forward on the tips of her toes, letting her hands run in all the places she'd been craving all week.

She needed to feel the slick of his hair beneath her fingers, to muss his always perfect hair back into disarray. Jim seemed to have the same idea because his hands were pulling the sweater she had pulled on her way out the door and he was swearing her name and all the stars when she stood before him in a red lace bra, breasts filling out the cups amply.

Melinda found herself thrust backward again and toward their bedroom, smiling as she instead was pressed up against the wall nearby and his lips brushed against her own again. The flavor of his lips was vibrant, heady cinnamon from his favorite caffeinated tea that she chased eagerly, that he gave to her willingly. When his tongue touched her lips, she felt lightning through her veins.

"I'm here now," he breathed into her mouth, her nails scoring along his neck leaving lines of red and white in their wake. "Let me make it up to you, Melinda."

She gave no reply, only helped him get rid of his pants instead. She pulled his shirt over his head and cast it aside then dove her fingers to his waistband, undoing the clinking belt buckle before shoving them down to grasp him through his boxer shorts.

"Fuck," spilled from his mouth, and dropped his head to rest on her breasts leaving his tongue all around while his hands slid up her back to tear it off her.

The red bra was left on the dining table and Jim's boots landed on opposite sides of their bedroom door. When he laid her down onto their bed, they were naked and she couldn't stop staring at the hard planes of her beautiful husband when he sat beside her and took his socks and watch off.

She took advantage of that and was on top of him by the time he registered what was going on. She kissed him again, but it was a short-lived, soft embrace before pulling away and settling back on her side. She let him slide back on top of her, and between her legs.

He was intent on picking up where they'd left off, his hard cock ready for her between his legs as she rocked against him, working them both into such a frenzy that when he finally slid into her they'd both be panting for breath.

"Jim," she gasped again, and he pulled out from between her legs, letting her lift her leg up to give him access.

She was beautiful, leaning against him and awash with desire, and god, she wanted him. He shifted forward slightly and began to press into her, finding that their foreplay had made her slick, deliciously so. He couldn't help the growl that escaped his throat as he slid all the way into her, filling her deeply and pressing his body tightly to her.

By the way, she was straining toward him, it appeared she wanted to feel all of him, as well. Slowly, she began to rock against him, almost lazily but with intent. They rocked their hips unhurriedly, taking their time and feeling each slow drag of his cock filling her, a gasp falling from her lips each time he thrust himself deep into her.

"You… feel… amazing…" he managed to say between thrusts, and she moaned in approval, too worked up to manage words.

She rocked her hips expertly against him, with some twenty years of practice as he thrust against her, slowly building that delicious release she'd been wanting since she'd woken up abruptly. She turned slightly toward her stomach, reaching to his wrist and pulling him with her, wanting him to roll with her, to take her from behind, a position she'd only ever trusted Jim enough to allow.

He followed her with ease as she rolled onto her stomach, keeping himself buried inside her while she raised her hips just enough to slide a small pillow underneath. There was always a moment that she enjoyed when he stayed there, still and full inside her as he kissed her, his hands running over her whole body to worship her while letting her adjust.

He leaned forward and kissed the side of her face, "You good, baby?" He whispered and waited for her to nod and turn her head, kissing him as he continued rocking gently into her. His sighs and groans were her favorite part of him hovering above her, his hands tightly on her waist while picking up speed.

She knew he enjoyed the way she began to move against him, rocking her hips up and into his waiting thrusts. "Oh, yes," she groaned as he quickly started to pick up the pace, settling around her and covering her completely. "Jim... oh, fuck." She shuddered at the way she could feel him all around her, as though he were everywhere.

She loved the way she was at his mercy, the way he surrounded her and she could feel him with every inch of her body. She gasped as he sucked at the nape of her neck, turning her head just enough to kiss him again thoroughly.

She was so close, and he was hitting her just right, and soon she was falling, her pleasure washing over her, the warmth of her husband enveloping her as she trembled beneath him, each sensuous push prolonging her pleasure and causing her to gasp as she saw stars, words failing her as she came down from her high, delighting in the way he slowed to allow her recovery.

He kissed her shoulder as he slowed his tempo, her body still tightly wound up and yes, she would come again. "Melinda," he gasped, pulling away slightly, and she smirked, knowing exactly what he needed. "I need— no... I want—"

"To see me," she finished his sentence, turning around and lying on her back as before. Jim was a visual person, and he loved to see her face as she came. He gazed at her, his eyes dark with his desire for her, and she added, "I want to see you, too, my love."

Her voice was sultry and seductive, and he kissed her again as he surged forward, sliding back into her, tracing his hand down her leg as she lifted it up and around him. "Oh, God, yes," he broke their kiss as he stilled within her, reveling in both the sight and feel of her. "That's it… Oh, Melinda…"

Jim slowed down, looking at her as he shifted her slightly to allow himself to move deeper within her, harder, although not enough to hurt her. He knew exactly what she wanted, and he had always been good at executing it.

One of his hands gripped against the counter behind her, while the other wrapped around her back, his hand clutching her waist. Melinda moved and grabbed the wrist of his outstretched arm. Her grip was hard and she delighted in the racing beat of his pulse under her fingers.

She could tell the second she felt herself reaching her release, the feeling of him inside her edging her inevitably towards completion. She clutched his hair and his wrist harder, urging him on, her breath hot on his skin as she whispered in his ear.

"Please," she purred, panting. "Please, Jim…"

He granted her wish, speeding up but maintaining the deep thrusts and it suddenly became too much. She came with a drawn-out moan, eyes closed and head leaning back against the door. He wasn't far behind her, but she moaned at how her name sounded as it escaped, hoarse and low, from his throat.

He rested his head on her shoulder as he struggled for breath and she held him close, peppering kisses up his neck. "I love you," he said, still breathless, his eyes closed as she felt the ghost of a kiss on her neck. "God, I love you."

Her hands ran up and down his back in comfort like she always did and continued to kiss his neck. "Mmm, and I love you," she giggled heartily into their embrace as he pulled her close.

"Do you think I did the right thing?" He asked, his eyes telling her that he wanted the truth from her.

"I hope so," she breathed, and as he tightened his arm around her, she noted how his hand hovered protectively over, tracing every inch of her skin with so much care and love. "It was the only option, Jim."

He nodded and settled into the bed as she reached for the cover and pulled it up, snuggling into each other and closing their eyes. Melinda wanted to stay in this perfect moment for as long as possible, but even as perfect as it was, she knew Katie wasn't totally safe, and in no world was that perfect to her.

* * *

The sleep wasn't perfect or even good, but it was sleep and it gave Katie's feet a rest for a couple of hours at least. Dawn hit before anyone wanted it to, and before she knew it she was standing next to the rest of the group at the edge of the river's gorge.

She was watching, nervously, as Ned tested out the strength of the rope they managed to build out of vines and sticks. It was their only way across. Either that or try to out-swim the giant river snake, but none of them wanted to test if they could swim well enough to do that.

Ned looked at Jasper. "You're an evil genius, you know that."

"You wanted to go first, Spacewalker," she shouted. "Now stop stalling." Katie laughed when she saw the signs of nervousness on his face, but the stone wall was soon back up after only a moment.

"Just hold onto the apogee and you'll be fine," Jasper told Ned.

"Apogee? You mean the Indians?" Ned asked.

"Apogee not Apache," Jasper said sarcastically.

"He knows," she rolled her eyes. "Today, Ned."

"Aye, aye, Captain," Ned turned to the rest of the group. "See you on the other side."

With that, he launched, swinging down, then out over the river and letting go at the apogee, flying untether the last twenty or so feet before sticking the landing on the far bank. For a moment, no one moved, and then Ned spun around, thrusting his arms in the air, "WE ARE THE APOGEE!"

They all cheered back with him before Katie took her step up to go next. She grabbed onto the rope and wrapped her fingers around it tightly. She ran backward the best she could and then forward at full speed. When her foot met with the last bit of gravel, she jumped high into the air.

The rope swung her over the river and she screamed like a child on a roller coaster for the first time, loving every minute of feeling the cool breeze in her hair and no care in the world.

Just as her rope met the peak of its journey she let, tumbling in mid-air towards the ground. She hit the gravel of the other side and jumped up, amazed by herself when she stood next to Ned.

"That was amazing!" She yelled, hearing the cheers from across the river from the rest of their group.

"It's good to see you enjoying the ground as much as the rest of us, princess," Ned said, teasing her.

"Don't get used to it," she said, glancing back over the water at the rest of the group as Jasper readied himself to swing across.

Within a few minutes, everyone was standing on the opposite side of the river, a clear sense of pride on all of their faces. Clearly, the journey had changed them, bonded them. They were no longer prisoners of the Ark. They were no longer separated by which station they came from. They were friends, but more than that.

They were a team.

"Let's go find those supplies," she shouted happily before turning to hike up the bit of ground that sat above the river on this side.

As they turned for the ruins of Mount Weather, Katie was the first to notice that there was something hanging from the trees all around them. Instead of peaches, this time she reached up and pulled down an apple. The realization that they were standing in an over-sized orchard filled her with even more joy and wonder.

Everyone began to laugh and pick them quickly, stuffing the makeshift packs with as much as they could carry. Jasper had already eaten three by the time they began to walk again, picking another one down and bringing it to his mouth.

"They are so amazing!" Jasper said in awe, and just as he brought the fruit back to his mouth, a spear exploded into his chest.

The spear pinned him to the tree at his back, leaving him upright. So sudden, for a moment, it's as if none of the group understood what they were looking at. Hannah was the first to scream, bringing everyone back to reality. Jasper was her brother after all.

Katie's wide, terror-filled eyes shoot back across the river as they all take cover behind an outcropping of rocks. No one was there, but someone had to be.

Someone who didn't come down on the dropship. Someone who grew up on Earth and learned how to throw a spear from over two-hundred feet away, and kill someone with it.

Finally, the words slipped out like poison, "We're not alone down here."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a lot of plot in here from both the Ark and on the ground :) This is all in a span of one day as well and that's why I jump back and forth between locations. I hope you all enjoy this! xx Mariah

**Jim — 42  
** **Melinda — 42  
** **Andrea — 42  
** **Rick — 40  
** **Eli — 32  
** **LeTrai— 30  
** **Landon — 18  
** **Adam — 18  
** **Katie — 17  
** **Ned — 17  
** **Toby — 17  
** **Jasper — 17  
** **Murphy — 16  
** **Hannah — 15  
** **Mackenzie — 15**

* * *

Melinda and Jim were taking their morning stroll around the station when they were met with different people of the Ark. Every person had a different question about the dropship that was rumored to have been launched, and each question meant a lie they had to come up with on the spot.

After ten years of being Chancellor, Jim was used to having to come up with cover stories, but when it came to lying to the parents of the children who they sent down to the ground, it was hard. They had come up with the idea of a virus, nothing airborne or too contagious to worry about, but the Skybox was closed to visitation.

The public thought it was a quarantine, but it actually was because there was no one there for any of them to visit. Any offenders left were of high security and weren't allowed visitation anyway until their day of execution.

Jim tried to sympathize with them, usually by saying his own daughter was in there too, but that never bought him much sympathy, and Melinda squeezed his hand as they continued walking past someone who had stopped them.

"You have to stay positive," she said. "It was for the best."

"I hate lying," he sighed, shaking his head. "I've always hated lying to the people."

"I know," she said, squeezing his hand again. "We just have to get through this next week. We will have more information then, or maybe even find some form of communication, and maybe we can tell them the truth if we know if it's safe down there."

He nodded, and they continued walking, but not for long before they were stopped again. This time by a younger girl with bright green eyes and a wide smile.

"Chancellor Clancy! I have a question about the quarantine," the girl said. "My brother's in lockup. I went to go see him for his birthday tomorrow." Then the girl's face went stone cold and Melinda knew she was going to ask something more serious. "Instead, I saw an open air-duct. Now, if there really was a virus, wouldn't you move to contain the airflow?"

Melinda was surprised by her forwardness, and so was Jim, but he rode through it. "The virus isn't airborne. That's why the ducts are open." He said. "Maybe if you tell me your name, I can give you information on your brother."

"My name is Mackenzie Banks. Can you tell me if he's okay?" The girl asked, biting her lip nervously.

Jim pulled up his mini-tablet from where it was secured on his belt and flipped through the different vital pages of data from the ground he had constantly updating. Ned Banks was easy enough to find, and he remembered the kid for being caught on an illegal spacewalk. "I can't. He is one of the hundred prisoners being quarantined, miss," he replied. "I'm sorry."

Mackenzie rolled her eyes. "No, you're not, Chancellor. First the dropship, and now this? The council is hiding something," the girl's eyes flashed anger and floated over to her. "And I'm going to figure out what it is." She turned around on her heel before either of them could say anything else to her.

Melinda laughed, shaking her head, and Jim did as well. "Ballsy kid," he said. "Do you think we should worry about her?"

"We'll keep an eye on her, but I think she's just worried about her brother. I don't blame her," she said, glancing up at him. She had a real smile on her face for the first time in a few days. "She reminds me of someone."

He smiled with her and shared the sentiment. "Remember when Katie wanted to wear a suit for the Spring Formal?" He asked, nudging her to walk on with him and wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

She nodded. "Yeah, and I remember running for my council seat when they tried to deny her. Andrea too." She chuckled, squeezing his hand as they walked toward the end of the all before she separated from him. "Hey, I'm gonna run to the mess hall and grab myself a coffee. Do you want something?"

He chuckled, low in his throat as he remembered it all as she told him. "Mmm, that was so hot, babe. All of your speeches and those pencil skirts..." He said and she smiled up at him even bigger this time as he leaned down to give her a chaste kiss on the lips. "And I'll take just some black coffee. Nothing else. I'll wait right here for you."

"Okay. I love you." She nodded and turned to enter the mess hall on her right.

"And I love you," she heard him say back to her as she walked through a small crowd of people. The coffee station was the first thing anyone saw when they walked in and there wasn't a long line, so Melinda found herself filling her cup and adding sugar to it quick enough before she heard the first shot.

It was loud and it echoed, but not before another gunshot rang out and another, and then another. Someone had screamed before she even had the chance to turn around and see that it was Jim. He had slid down the wall he was leaning up against and grasped his shoulder.

"Jim?" She yelled out, dropping her coffee just as two guards ran up and tackled a man that was standing near her husband with a gun. "JIM? NO! JIM! Someone call a medic! NOW!"

She ran over to him and she watched as he slowly looked up at her, the pale color of his face frightening her. Blood was pooling around his hand and now hers too that she brought to his shoulder as she tried to hold pressure. She pulled her sweater overhead, knowing she had an undershirt on and could use this to tie off the wound.

"Melinda," he gasped, swallowing loudly as he tried to speak. "I'm sorry I ruined our coffee date."

"Oh, Jim…" She sighed, leaning down to kiss him. There was something inside her screaming, just in case, but she didn't want to say or think that sort of thing into existence. She wasn't going to lose her husband today. "You never think of yourself even when you have a bullet in your shoulder."

"Raincheck?" He asked, smiling as he tried to lift his hand to brush away her tears but it fell short as he continued to get weaker.

"Hey, don't try to move." She told him, hearing the sound of boots running against the metal ground. She hoped that it was a medical team. It had to be. "Just breathe and keep your eyes on me, and then of course… you can always have a raincheck with me."

He smiled wider. "I guess I'm lucky to have such a beautiful view," he said, trying to keep his breathing even.

She blushed, even now. He always had that effect on her. "You schmooze too much, Jim Clancy." She said, breathing a sigh of relief as a medic kneeled down beside him. That had to be a good sign. Jim was going to be fine. He had to be.

* * *

Katie's feet hit the ground hard, and her arms pumped back and forth as she tried to make her strides longer. Even with her bum leg, she wasn't going to let someone get an easy shot at her.

Ned ran next to her, and she couldn't tell if it was on purpose or if it was because they were equally as fast as the other. Toby was a little in front, and Hannah was on their heels. Suddenly she heard a grunt and someone fall, and she turned to see Hannah had tripped.

"Hannah, come on!" She yelled, running back over to him.

"Yeah, get up!" Toby yelled, a few feet away.

Hannah stayed, frozen, examining something on the ground. She screamed and dropped it, getting onto her feet as quickly as she could.

It wasn't just something, it was a human skull. Katie walked over and picked it up, examining it closely. Except it almost didn't look human. The skull was larger and warped in a way she had never seen, not even in history books.

"Who are they?" Ned asked as he approached and looked over her shoulder at the skull.

"More like… what are they?" She muttered under her breath and sighed.

"We are so screwed," Hannah muttered, and then the sound of a distant scream filled their ears. "Jasper. That's him!" Hannah gasped. "That's my brother!"

"He's alive," she said and started sprinting in the direction from where they had come from. Somehow they had crossed back over the river through the woods and were on the opposite side of it. "Come on!"

"Katie, wait! Wait, wait!" Ned yelled after her. "Stay out of the trees."

She ignored what he said, even though it was so odd to hear him call her something other than a princess, and kept running at full speed. She stopped just in time to be at the edge of the river, and if she had kept running any more she would have fallen in.

"He was right there," she said, pointing to the spot they had all seen Jasper get speared.

It was empty, only a trail of blood behind. That was impossible. Who could have grabbed him if it wasn't the people or person who had thrown the spear, and why would they have wanted to take him if he was half dead?

"No, this can't be happening!" Hannah said in disbelief. "Where is he?"

"They had to have taken him," Toby said, answering his question.

"We have to go," Ned said, turning around to face the group. "Jasper is alive and we are going to find him."

"Ned, I don't know… you saw how skilled they are," Katie began, shaking her head. "Are you sure it's worth—"

"Katie!" He yelled, interrupting her. "We are not on the Ark anymore and no one is being left behind!" His voice rose with every word. "He is one of us, and he is out there, alive, right now. We have to find him." Ned turned and began running back towards where the dropship had landed.

"It's a twenty-mile trek back, Ned. It will take all day," Toby yelled after him.

He was right, she realized and soon she was running after him. "Well then we might as well start somewhere," she yelled back at the group.

They seemed hesitant at first, but she heard each of their boots hitting the soil, running after them.

* * *

Melinda walked into the command center and it was like everyone was staring at her. She knew a lot of people would have expected her to stay at Jim's side, but it was hard to see him so weak and unconscious in a hospital bed.

She had paced back and forth for too many hours already with no new information about how he was doing so she thought it would do her better to be making sure the project she and Jim had spearheaded was going well or at least hopefully better than before.

Except now she was staring at the different tiles that kept going dark. One after another. That was two more kids on the ground dead.

Andrea approached her slowly, trying to get a read on her and she glanced over before her friend began to speak. "Is there something you want to say?" She asked.

"Hi, Mel," Andrea said, smiling sadly. "How's Jim doing?"

She sighed, "Ask me again if he makes it through the night. He hardly survived through today and now he is still unconscious from his surgery."

Andrea nodded but looked confused. "And why aren't you with him?" Her friend asked.

"I stayed with him for some time after he got out of his surgery, but it won't do me any good to be worrying about him with no new information so I thought I would come to check on Katie." She explained, tapping her fingers nervously on the surface in front of. "What has happened? Who did we just lose, Dr. James?"

All she could see was that her daughter's vitals were all over the place, and she didn't like the sight of that right now when kids were dying.

"Uh, Murphy and Mbege, both named John." Eli James spoke up. "Neither was injured during the landing. Something other than an injury killed these two. One second they were fine and the next, bam. Now another, Landon Peters. Same as the others."

"Then it isn't radiation," she pointed out, walking over to the nearest desktop and logging in her access code.

For the last day she had been debating on sending a shipment of supplies down to the kids on the ground and pulled up her current draft for action during the next council meeting, but she was worried about if it would pass. She thought about sending it without bringing it to the council, but if she got caught she could get arrested or worse, floated for it.

But then she thought about Katie again, and her not having enough food or water or medical supplies. She had to think this through, right?

Rick Payne, the head of security and the acting Chancellor spoke up. "Come on, Melinda. Wishful thinking isn't good science." He said, cocking an eyebrow at her.

She hated his smugness and she wanted to smack it off his face, but she knew that wouldn't do her any good. She scoffed instead. Sometimes that guy could get on her nerves. "That isn't wishful thinking, Commander. One second, find, the next bang isn't how exposure to radiation presents. Pick up a book and you would know that." She explained.

"Well, it could be, if there was enough of it." Rick quipped. "And its Chancellor now, Melinda."

"Only while my husband is unconscious and in the hospital wind," she corrected him, peering over her shoulder enough to glare at him. "And if there was enough radiation to present like that in two of the kids then they would all be dead."

Everyone fell silent.

"Please let me be right," she sighed under her breath and looked back over her possible proposal for the capsule drop. She knew what she had to do.

* * *

Ned's body was giving out and he knew it. His lungs were struggling to get oxygen and his sides were aching with pain. They had been running for hours, not stopping for more than a moment's rest without Katie yelling at them, but they were all determined. The determination was something that he never lost sight of, even when being locked in a cell for two-hundred and eighty-eight days.

Soon he saw the lights of the camp and the sounds of fighting. Oh, god, that couldn't be good. They ran up on Landon holding a knife to Jon Murphy's throat, and the entire camp surrounding them, watching.

"Landon! Let him go!" Katie yelled, even through her struggling to breathe.

"Enough, both of you!" He yelled as he could see Murphy about to continue the fighting with Landon dropped the shiv he was holding.

Landon made eye contact with Katie, holding it for a second, before turning to look at her injured leg. The boy almost looked upset, but he couldn't tell if it was out of fear of his own safety or for Katie's wellbeing considering what had happened only the day before.

"How were you hurt?" Landon asked. "What happened? Who's going to tell me?"

"I'm fine," Katie brushed Landon off and away from her. "Just be careful before going into any body of water."

"What's that supposed to me?" Landon was pissed, he could tell and when turned to him, he grabbed hold of his collar. "Where's the food?"

He fought him off and ducked a punch, getting his own in before he sighed, "ENOUGH!" He yelled. "We didn't make it to Mount Weather. Something happened. "

"We were attacked," Katie answered, looking around the camp.

"Attacked? By what?" Landon asked, his questions still veered towards him and was seething with anger. Murphy had come up and placed his hand on his shoulder but he'd shake it off. "I want to know what happened if it could possibly endanger everyone."

"We will tell you everything, but it's not a what," he said, keeping eye contact with him and then turning to talk to the entire group. All ninety-seven of them that were still alive. "It's who. It turns out, when the last man from the ground died on the Ark, he wasn't the last Grounder."

"It's true," Katie replied, looking at the confusion on Landon's face. "Everything we thought we knew about the ground is wrong. There are people here, survivors. The good news is, that means we can survive. Radiation won't kill us."

"Yeah, but the bad news is the Grounders might," he said. "We need to build a wall around the camp we have begun to set up. It needs to be sturdy and there needs to be a rotation of people keeping watch at night."

"When did you start thinking you were going to give orders around here?" Landon asked, looking over at the rest of the group and finally realizing one of their group was missing. "Wait. Where's the kid with the glasses?"

"Another thing, they took Jasper," Katie said. "We need to get him back."

"Landon," Hannah walked up to him. "My brother was hit. They threw a spear."

He walked up to the ground around Landon. It was Murphy, Katie, and a few other people he didn't know yet, but that didn't matter right now. "They are skilled, way past our ability by far, but we think that Jasper is alive. We all heard him scream when he was moved," he explained. "We need to get together a group of—"

Jon Murphy smirked as he approached the group again, holding a wristband in his hand and interrupting their conversation. "Number sixteen and counting…" The boy said.

"What do you mean sixteen?" He asked, confused.

"You've been taking them off, haven't you? What the hell are you thinking?" Katie asked, clearly understanding something that he wasn't at first. "The communication system they sent down with us was fried on our way down and these wristbands are all we got. If you take these off they will think we are dying. That it's not safe for them to follow."

"That's the point of it all, Chancellor of Earth," Landon chuckled, looking at the group of people around him as they laughed with him. "We're liberating ourselves."

"Yeah!" Everyone cheered.

"You think this is a game?" She asked, yelling louder than everyone around her. "It's not just our parents or siblings up there. It's our farmers, our doctors, and our teachers. How are we going to survive if we don't know how?" She sighed and tried to gain her composure, and he knew what she was about to tell them all. "Life support on the Ark is failing, and everyone you know and love will be dead in a few months if they don't follow us down here. Why do you think they sent us instead of responsible adults? They need to know if the ground is survivable again, and we need their help against whoever is out there. If you take off your wristbands, you're not just killing the people we left behind on the Ark. You are killing us."

Landon chuckled, rolling his eyes. "We are stronger than she thinks," Landon said as he turned to the crowd of people around them now. "I don't want any of you to listen to her! She is one of the privileged and if they come down here, she will have it good just as she did before. How many of you can say the same? We can take care of ourselves. That wristband on your arm? It makes you a prisoner, and we are not prisoners anymore! They say they will forgive our crimes. I say you're not criminals! I say whatever the hell we want!"

The crowd bursts in applause, cheering on the words of Landon, who basked in all of the energy they threw at him. She wasn't having any of it and turned away, but he grabbed her arm.

"Now, Katie, you can try to change what's happening, or even kill me. You know why?" Landon asked, shrugging. "Whatever the hell we want!"

"Whatever the hell we want!" Everyone cheered around him. "Whatever the hell we want! Whatever the hell we want!"

Ned slowly approached her, but she turned around and brushed past him before he got close enough. He was quick on her tail, wanting to know what she had planned. "What do we do now?" He asked.

"We go find Jasper," Katie said and walked off into the dropship. "If he says we can do whatever the hell we want then I'm going to do just that and find him alive if we can."

She quickly began gathering everything she could use to defend herself with and help Jasper. He agreed and began to help her, finding different things that could be used as gauze and grabbing himself a new shirt amongst a pile of clothes when he caught the smell of his body odor.

Shortly after, Landon joined them in the ship, leaving the chanting crown outside. "What was it?" Landon asked, grabbing hold of Katie's arm and making her drop the bag she was holding. "I said, what was it that attacked you?"

"Let go of her!" He yelled, removing the hold he had on her. "She isn't yours to boss around."

"Stay out of this, lover boy," Landon said, shoving him back. "I'm not gonna hurt her yet. What was it?"

He tried to bite back his bark, but when Katie's hand touched his chest, he calmed just enough to look over at her. She gave him a glance that told him she could handle this and he stepped back, giving her the room she needed to look at Landon. He wasn't going to stand in her way.

"What do you want to know?" She asked, going back to gathering as many knives as possible.

"The thing that attacked you, what was it?" Landon asked.

"I don't know what it was," she replied. "It looked like some giant river snake to me. It had sharp teeth and it drugs me underwater. I could have died, but it only cut up my leg and now I'm fine. You could probably get a better description from someone who didn't get dragged around by it." She sighed loudly and stood up, glancing over Landon. "You have a gun, right? I heard some whispers about it."

"You have a gun?" He asked. "How?"

"I don't even want to know how you got it, but I think it would be a good asset if you did have one," Katie asked, glancing at Ned as Landon slightly nodded, pulling his jacket back to reveal the gun that sat tightly in his waistband. "Good. You're coming with us to help find Jasper. We are going to need all the manpower we can muster if someone tries to attack us again, but I do think it would be in our best interest to build a wall around camp like Ned suggested." Katie didn't give anyone a chance to say anything to her as she walked out of the dropship and he quickly followed behind. "Let's go," she said, but Hannah was ready and waiting for them outside, along with Toby.

"Murphy, you're coming with me," Landon yelled out as he came from the dropship too, and the boy he had been fighting when they arrived tagged along with them. "Adam, you're in charge. Get everyone working on having a wall built around the camp by the time we come back."

Things were going slowly, but soon everyone fell in line, leaving the camp at a fast pace to save their friend's life.


	5. Chapter 5

Melinda sighed, "Twelve more, one after the next…" She looked over the black tiles on the commander center screens as they all kept blinking and shutting off. One right after another. "What could be happening down there?"

Andrea stood beside her, shrugging. "It's all so sudden. They are fine and then bam, just like before. I don't understand it. It's not how radiation presents."

She didn't know what to say either. None of this made sense.

Melinda walked away from the screens and back over to the nearest table, looking at the spreadsheets of vitals of all the known dead.

It didn't make any sense how one second they could be fine and the next dead. What was happening?

Her head turned back and she found herself staring at Katie's tile. At least she was okay. She had found herself memorizing her heart rate which was usually a resting seventy-five, but it was a little faster at eighty-five right now.

When she heard the automatic doors whoosh as they opened and she saw Rick enter, she wasn't surprised. It wasn't all that alerting to see he was accompanied by six guards either. Melinda had been expecting them for a few hours.

"Councilor Melinda Clancy, you are under arrest for deliberately sending a drop capsule of supplies to the ground without sanction," a guard said, one she recognized to be a new recruit Jim had recently promoted. Joshua LeTrai. She could see he took no pride in it as he bound her hands behind her back. "I'm sorry, Melinda."

"It's okay, Josh," she said, glancing over her shoulder at him as he loosely secured the handcuffs around her hands. "I know you're only following orders."

"Sorry this has to be public," Rick said smugly to her, smiling all the while.

"No, you aren't," she chuckled under her breath.

"The policy your husband made on these matters is very clear, Councilor. There is no special treatment." Rick went to turn away, but he quickly rethought that decision and glanced back at her. He turned his whole body after a moment. "How many supplies did you send to the ground? Are you sure you even sent it to the right coordinates? You might've just sent all of that down there for nothing."

"Melinda, don't—" Andrea warned her.

She thought about that before she answered, but supposed he already knew the answer if he was asking her in front of the entire room. "I used whenever it took Payne. Breaking the law to keep my daughter alive was the easiest decision I ever made when the whole reason she's down there in the first place is because she already risked her life to save mine."

The man chuckled, shaking his head at her as though she was stupid. As though she was smaller than him and he was going to crush her like a bug. Melinda supposed he was going to when he floated her for this. "In that case, given your confession, in my role as chancellor pro tempore, you leave me no choice but to find you guilty of your crime," Rick told her simply, glancing at the guards beside her to close in on her in case she tried anything.

"You always have a choice, Rick." She said, laughing at the fact that he was choosing to be so serious right now despite everything. "You chose to press charges against my daughter when you could have pardoned her for her state of mind, even though you knew she would get floated for it, and now you're choosing to do this to me. Hiding behind the law absolves you of nothing."

"Be that as it may, Melinda, in accordance to penal code one because all crimes committed by those above the age of maturity, are capital crimes, you are hereby sentenced to death," Rick said, leaning down to make sure he was inches away from her face. "Execution is set for the morning and I choose at every turn, and at any cross to make sure that the human race stays alive. No special treatment for anyone, remember? Take her to her cell."

* * *

"Hey, hold up!" Landon said as he and Murphy were a good couple of feet behind the rest of the group. Landon was now openly carrying his weapon around in his right hand. "What's the rush to find this kid for? I don't think you would survive a spear to the heart."

"Put the gun away, Landon," Hannah warned him, pushing him away from Katie.

"Well, why don't you do something about it then, huh?" Murphy egged Hannah on and shoved her away from Landon.

"Jasper screamed when they moved him," Hannah yelled walking in between them. "If the spear had struck his heart then he would have died instantly. It doesn't mean we have time to waste. That is my brother you are talking about, remember?"

Landon and Murphy both glanced at each other and nodded silently. It was then that Katie noticed he slide the gun back under his waistband. However, no one began to walk.

Katie stared both boys down, and Murphy smirked at her as Landon stepped closer. He grabbed hold of her wrist holding it up for her to see. "As soon as the Ark Princess takes this off, we'll go."

She shoved Landon back a little, giving her the full movement of her wrist back. "The only way the Ark will think I'm dead is if I'm actually dead. My parents run this mission. I won't do that to them." She yelled, making sure her point got across. "You got that?"

"What a brave little princess," Landon chuckled, his hands shooting up defensively. "Let's see how long that lasts."

Ned popped in from behind, pulling Landon away from her just a bit. "Hey, why don't you find your own nickname? You call this a rescue party?" He broke the tension and waved her over toward him. "We have to split up to cover more ground. Katie, come with me."

She sighed, following him. "Took you long enough," she muttered. "I don't know how long I would have lasted with those three, even if Hannah is a good choice of company."

"I like to think so," Ned said, smirking at her. "Come on, let's get a head start on them and jog for a little bit. I bet I could beat you to that tree."

"You are so on," she laughed and raced ahead of him. Just then they saw some, a fiery explosion in the sky as something broke through the atmosphere. "Do you see that?"

"It has to be a capsule," Toby stepped up, glancing up at the sky.

"Who would send down a capsule?" Murphy chuckled. "They said they couldn't spare any supplies."

They all watched where it fell, some odd amount of miles away. Thankfully, they could all see the smoke rising from whatever had fallen and started towards it.

"What about my brother?" Hannah asked.

After a moment, all six of them stopped and glanced at each other. "Okay, right. Jasper," Katie said, nodding. "We should split up. All of us know the terrain, right?"

"For the most part," Ned asked, shrugging. "How should we split up?"

"Half of us go looking for Jasper and the other half go see what fell from the sky," Katie suggested, and everyone around the group nodded. "Okay, I say Ned, myself, and Landon go looking for the capsule."

"Okay. I can agree to that, but only if Landon will give his gun to me." Murphy said, walking up to his friend. "We're more likely to run into a grounder looking for Jasper."

"Yeah, fine," Landon slowly pulled the weapon out and showed Murphy how to turn the safety on and off before handing it over carefully.

Meanwhile Toby walked up to Katie and she sighed. "What now?" She asked as her ex-boyfriend began to tug her off to the side and she saw Ned's immediate reaction was to shove him off of her, but she instead removed her arm from his grasp and followed him away a safe distance to talk on their own. Ned watched them, uneasily, but he knew better than to say anything to her right now and that she was her own free person. "What do you want Toby?"

"You should really rethink this whole hating me thing, Katie," Toby said, sighing. She could read his stress all off his face from knowing him too well. She wished she could forget him. "Are you really going to go marching off with Landon and Ned alone?"

"I trust Ned with my life. He has saved it for me more than you have," she spat back at him. She couldn't believe he presumed to think he could worry about her like this still. She wasn't his girlfriend anymore. "Why do you care so much?"

"Because I care about you," Toby told her. "We've got to trust each other, Katie. We are quite literally surrounded by criminals and we have to try and be friends again."

"Well stop caring about, Toby. I'm not your girlfriend anymore and I don't want to be friends with you," she began to walk away, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her back toward him. She yanked her hand back but turned toward him all the same, but for her own reasons. "Toby, stop. You almost got me floated. Not possible."

Instead of back off like she had hoped for, he stepped closer, smiling at her as he tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. "This is Earth, Katie. Anything is possible."

She could tell he wanted to kiss her, and she might've let him a year ago, but not today. She pulled away before he could move any closer and turned to see Ned directly behind her. Had he read the situation that carefully? Or was he already going to come over to assert his dominance somehow like he'd been trying to since she'd met him?

Ned placed his hand on her shoulder, in a comforting way and it reminded her of something she'd seen her father do. He stepped between her and Toby then. "I'd let it go, man."

They had begun to walk away together, but Toby was too angry to let them get far. "Yeah, well, I've known Katie her whole life. We might've grown up on different stations, but I know her better than you ever will." Toby shouted, causing everyone to turn and look at him. "I get to decide when I let go."

Katie shared a glance with Ned, who had the same smug grin on his face as usual, and she rolled her eyes. "I think this is between the two of you, and not me." She said and walked away.

Ned didn't let her go far before he spoke up. "No, wait." She turned and glanced back at them both. "None of this petty drama matters to me. We need to find Jasper and we need to figure out what just fell from the sky," he said to her and then faced Toby. "But Toby? I can tell you and Katie are real close." And with that Katie, Ned, and Landon began their trek toward the rising smoke in the sky.

* * *

When Josh brought her into her cell, he unbounded her quickly and apologized. "I'm sorry I had to do this, Melinda. I hope bringing you here will bring you some comfort." He said and quickly left the room, pulling the cell door closed behind her. "If Jim wakes up I will tell him that you are being held. I'm sure he will work things out before morning."

She sighed, "I'm afraid it's not that simple. He might not wake up before then." She told him.

If she had been any other person he wouldn't have said anything to her. He wouldn't have even graced her with a single holding cell, but instead, he turned back toward her again. "Is there something you would like me to tell him if he doesn't?" Josh asked.

She walked over and hugged him, which he graciously accepted. Josh had been over for dinner so many times since his promotion to a commander of the guard that she'd lost count, but even before then, Jim had looked out for him after his father had been floated for theft. She knew this would be the last opportunity to say goodbye to him in a setting where no one could see them and she wasn't going to let that go easily.

"Thank you," she said, her breath and voice shaking as she pulled back. Her eyes were moist and she wiped tears away. "If he doesn't wake up before then tell him... thank you for everything. Jim loved me even when I didn't love myself and I am grateful for that." When her mother had died, Melinda had only been seventeen and had never known her father so she hadn't had anyone to rely on but herself. Her boyfriend at the time, Kevin, wasn't the greatest or nicest of people and had only broken up with her in the middle of everything. Jim had been there for her though, she remembered, and she had never let him go after that. "He was there for me when I had no one else. I love him... and even though it took me a long time to feel for him that way, he was right there waiting for me when I was ready. He gave me Katie... and he gave me twenty-five amazing years, and even some before then when we were best friends... just tell him thank you for that."

Josh nodded and gave her one last hug. "I cannot promise it will be verbatim, but I will do my best if need be." He told her and turned to let the cell door close. "Try to rest easy, Melinda."

Once she was alone it only took her a minute, but she immediately recognized the writing on the walls. The entire cell was covered in it once she took a look around, and she knew that Josh had brought her to Katie's holding cell. She ran her hand across the etchings, the small neat cursive she remembered so fondly.

Something inside her broke, and she fell to her knees. She whimpered as tears came forth and rolled down her cheeks freely. This was the closest she had been to her touching a part of her daughter in almost a year.

Each passage of writing was darker than the next, and she hated it. Melinda hated that her daughter hated herself and that she didn't know if she was even alive. She hated Toby even more and silently cursed her husband for putting him down there with her. That was not going to go well for either of them.

The more she read, the hard it was to look away. She was so close to Katie. She almost felt like she was in the same room as her, even if it was just some of her spirit left behind. She wanted to be with her now, to wrap her arms around her and pull her close, and tell her that everything would be okay again.

After a few particularly dark sentences, Melinda turned away from it all and laid on the cot. It still smelled of her sweet girl, the honey vanilla perfume Katie had worn since she was a girl. She held the pillow close and cried. It was all she could and it was all she wanted to do.

Melinda had no qualms of being floated beside the idea of leaving her daughter all alone in this world if Jim died too. She didn't want to think of that ever happening, but if she died tomorrow and then Jim did too, what was there to stop Rick from killing Katie somehow if he got to the ground or was able to communicate down there?

She didn't trust the man one bit after he'd gone out of his way to arrest her daughter, but especially after today, and wouldn't put it past him to be behind Jim's attack. She never wanted to think of that, and instead found herself dreaming of what could be if she and Jim had made it down to the ground before all this happened and could've been with Katie. That was a good image, enough to relax her and help her fall asleep.

* * *

Toby had gotten grouped with Murphy and Hannah, and as they walked through the forest together he wanted to kill himself.

They were flirting, despite Hannah being obviously younger and a bit naive, but that wasn't any of his business. If he needed to he would intervene because he'd known Hannah almost his whole life from living on station five with her, but she wasn't his family and he didn't have to worry about her if he didn't want to.

He had enough on his plate with Katie, and every time she pushed him away he could hear Jim Clancy's ever-present voice in his mind. If you're going to be close to my daughter you're going to promise to always keep an eye out for her. He had done that, even at fourteen, and had never stopped.

He wished he could have gone with them, but Landon was with Ned and Katie instead. He wanted to know how close they were getting, and by how closely Hannah was walking to Murphy who she'd just met, he didn't think the odds were in his favor. He could tell there was something there between Katie and Ned, and not just in the way he noticed her staring at him whenever he wasn't staring back at her.

It was little things. Ned always stepped in front of her, making sure something was safe enough before holding his hand out and helping Katie down or through whatever obstacle was in front of them. Katie usually never let anyone take then lead from her or choose something, but somehow she'd let down her guard enough for Ned already.

"Quit moping back there," Murphy called out and Hannah laughed.

"Yeah, why don't you walk with us and not away?" Hannah asked. "I think it would be better to walk as a group."

He closed the distance and glanced at them. "What do you want?"

"Why the glum face?" Murphy teased him.

"Enough, Murphy," Hannah muttered and punched him, and the look he gave back to her made him put himself between them. "I've got this, Tob."

"Just to be careful," he said, eyeing Murphy. "What's wrong with you, huh?"

Murphy chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Why don't you tell me what happened between you and the Ark princess?"

"None of your business," he muttered.

"She said he turned her in," Hannah commented.

Murphy scoffed. "Why would you do that? Was she not your girlfriend?" Murphy asked. "Did you catch her with someone else and then rat her out? I could understand that."

"It wasn't like that. She never cheated on me," he sighed, marching on and keeping an eye out for clues on where Jasper might have been taken. "It's none of your business. We aren't together anymore and that's all you need to know."

"That I can tell from a mile away, and just know, with Ned around Katie doesn't even see you." Murphy chuckled at his expense. "It's like you're not even here, and Ned isn't going to hesitate to bring her into his bed if she gives him the go-ahead."

Hannah sighed beside him, giving him a light squeeze on the arm, but didn't say anything.

He shook his head. "She wouldn't do that," he said, almost just to try and reassure himself. Katie had always told him she wanted to wait. He could remember the feel of her soft, pillowy lips so clearly in his brain. The way her hands would slide under his shirt and how they would hide away in storage closets on different stations of the Ark. Those were the good days. "She just met him. She wouldn't..."

"Is that because she wouldn't let you after however long?" Murphy laughed even harder then and set a hand on his shoulder. "Trust me, brother, Ned has some of the best game compared to most guys on that dropship and if he wants to fuck your girl, then he's going to."

* * *

After about an hour of being split up, Ned and Katie had taken the lead above Landon as they followed where the smoke was rising in the sky from whatever had fallen. They still had about five miles left before reaching it give or take, but all that was on all of their minds was Jasper, and the fact that there were grounders.

Ned had tried to reassure her that with his Earth-skills they should find this capsule easily and be able to find the other group and Jasper in time, but she wasn't sure how much she could trust his knowledge.

Although Katie had learned a lot about him in a short span of time since she'd known him, it didn't mean she trusted him. She knew he had a sister and mom back up on the Ark, and that he wanted to do everything he could to ensure they survived and got to come down to the ground someday.

Ned had even told her that his dad had died when he was young, but he didn't tell her why, so she assumed he had been floated for something and possibly even by her father. That worried her. Did he hold some sort of resentment toward her like everyone else?

"So I've been thinking," Ned spoke up, breaking her train of thought. "Why do you think the grounders didn't attack until we crossed the river? It's not like we were being quiet and they didn't know we were there."

She nodded, letting that sink in for a moment. "Umm… maybe they waited for us to cross?" she suggested, looking over at him warily. "The river could be a boundary of some sort."

"That would mean Mount Weather is off-limits," he commented.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "How are we going to get those supplies then?" She asked. "What are we gonna do for food?"

"You two argue like a married couple," Landon teased.

"Shut up, Landon," they both said at the same time and shared a glance with each other.

He shrugged and looked away from her, listening for something, and then took off. She followed quickly behind him and could hear the sound of rushing water. They came upon a clearing where a waterfall-fed into a small pond-like lake.

"Well, at least we know somewhere we can find water," She said, smiling at him.

They rushed down to the water's edge together and Ned dove in while she collected water in the makeshift canteens everyone had made back at camp. He resurfaced, relaxing on the surface with his arms stretched out.

"Oh, yeah… this is truly the best. You two should join me!" He said and Landon came running down too with Katie, but instead of just diving in like he had, Landon stripped his clothes off.

"You're disgusting," Katie muttered as she bent down to fill her bag, turning her body the opposite way to ensure she didn't see any part of him.

"Like the show?" Landon teased her before he jumped in.

"You wish," Katie sighed and took a drink of the water as she sat down on the rock, beginning to fill another makeshift canteen.

Ned was far too used to the nudity of different prisoners being in the SkyBox that he didn't mind and when he noticed Katie was solely interested in collecting water, he splashed her playfully. "Come on, princess. Enjoy it a little."

"Ned, we don't have time for this." She sighed, rolling her eyes.

"We have been hiking for hours," he told her, standing up and shaking out the water from his hair, running his hands through the thick blond mop. "We need to take a break."

"I agree with lover boy," Landon piped in.

"I will take a break when we find the capsule and then Jasper," she told him, filling the next bottle with water and twisting the cap on. "You be quiet over there."

"Then will you do it because it's my birthday tomorrow?" He asked, smiling as he walked toward her.

She shook her head and placed her hand on his shoulder. "No, but happy early birthday." She said.

He chuckled, "I thought so," he said, grabbing hold of her arm.

There was a moment where she held his gaze and she rolled her eyes. "No," she muttered, giggling. "NO! Ned, don't!"

But it was too late. He pulled her into the lukewarm pond and she was submerged immediately. She splashed at him in revenge and he chuckled, holding her close to him in case she couldn't touch.

"Damnit, Ned! Why?" she shouted, sighing as she tried to tread water the best she could while holding onto him. "Oh, yeah, wow… I guess this is nice."

"Yeah, see, I told you." He said, smiling. "Once you get used to it it feels really nice." He had his hands resting around her waist and once he noticed she was going in between holding eye contact with him and staring at his lips, he smiled wider. "You know, if you wanted to kiss me I wouldn't stop you."

"Ned..." she whispered. She was so focused on his eyes that she did not even notice how much closer he was now. "We aren't alone." Their bodies radiated the same heat, their lips held identical smiles.

"So, does that matter?" He continued and he inched his face a bit closer. "I'm going to if that's okay with you."

"Ned..." she repeated; soft and quiet, like the sound of a song bird's wings. "I don't know… I, um…" Her fingers brushed the hem of his shirt: worn cotton, old and blue, and wet under her fingers.

Katie didn't know how to feel with this sense of intimacy, even if her heart was beating too fast for her not to want it. Ned was attractive in every sense of the way. He was tall, charming, had a nice, strong body, and a handsome face.

Now that he was so close, he too began to see even more of her face under the darkening blush: her light freckles spread across her face in a way so much softer than most peoples', and her brown eyes staring deep into him without a queasy feeling in his stomach.

He was swimming in thoughts of life and possibility, what he could do versus what he would do, and what he most definitely should not do. Neither knew who took the final step, but someone did, and they were no longer two people with two stories and two minds, but one.

She finally noticed how close he truly was when his lips enclosed on hers; soft yet immersive, gentle yet powerful all the same. All there was was the two of them, or one of them, rather, and all he could feel was her.

Hints of vanilla and honey in his nose, brown-colored hair, and eyes on his mind. And all she could feel was him. Pine and sea salt, golden-hair, and green. Neither of them cared about Landon being there anymore.

* * *

**A/N: For reference, this was all in the span of one day. I hope you enjoyed it! xx Mariah**


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After how I left things last chapter I worked some magic for this update :) Enjoy! xx Mariah

**Jim — 42  
** **Melinda — 42  
** **Andrea — 42  
** **Rick — 35  
** **Eli — 32  
** **LeTrai— 30  
** **Landon — 18  
** **Adam — 18  
** **Katie — 17  
** **Ned — 17  
** **Toby — 17  
** **Jasper — 17  
** **Murphy — 16  
** **Hannah — 15  
** **Mackenzie — 15**

* * *

Landon had been unusually quiet for the rest of the trek to the smoldering capsule and Katie couldn't contain her mind from thinking about how good it would've felt to let Ned do more than just kiss her under that waterfall.

Instead she'd enjoyed the moment for far too long and was now trying to dry off while they walked towards the capsule. It had created a large crater, maybe ten yards wide, and while the capsule was maybe half that size.

By the time they had gotten there it had cooled down and Ned pried opened it by using the sharp end of a rock to separate the compartment door that had been dented during the landing.

When it opened they say it was filled with different options of food rations mostly fruit and some sort of meat, and a hundred silver water canisters along with several jugs of water. There were even some tools and tenting supplies, and a radio.

Katie made a fast grab for it before Landon could, remembering his motto of not wanting anyone to follow them. "Are you still so sure about them not wanting to forgive our crimes?" She asked, fidgeting with the controls.

The older boy scoffed. "I think someone sent this down to help you and not the rest of us," Landon replied back, beginning to pull different items out that they would need to carry back to camp.

She wasn't exactly sure how to work this thing and it looked pretty old, but after turning a knob a static white noise came from it like it had turned on. She moved throughout the channels of communication with the other knob and grabbed the small microphone that was attached to the side by a cord.

Katie pressed the button and the noise went silent as she took in a deep breath, "Come in, does any hear me?" She released the button and the static came from the machine again, but then she held the button to speak. "I repeat, does anyone on the Ark hear me?"

When she released the button the same static filled her ears and Landon only chuckled. "Maybe mommy and daddy don't love you after all."

She dropped the microphone, leaving it in the grass and she turned back around to look at the capsule and she saw Ned standing behind her. "Were you going to say something?" He shook his head. "Good. I don't want to talk about it."

He nodded and held up a deck of cards. "Look what I found."

"That will be fun around camp," she said, smiling at him. She peeked around him to look inside the hatch again, but it was nearly empty from all the stuff the boys had loaded out while she was tinkering with the radio. "Anything else in there that isn't classified as essential?"

"Some of this," he pulled out a glass bottle of a brown liquid and she shook her head as he laughed. "Oh, come on now princess are you against underage drinking?"

"Is that what I think it is?" She asked.

"Whiskey? Oh, yeah. Probably left around by someone in the last hundred years." He said, popping the top off and taking a swig before offering it toward her. "Want some?"

She only hesitated for a moment before she took a quick swig and the liquid burned the entire way down her throat. She gave it back quickly as she gagged slightly at the taste. "Never again," she said as she heard the static cut out on the radio.

Her head whipped in the other direction and she darted over to the machine as a fuzzy voice came through, but then suddenly she could hear what was being said on the other end. "We read you loud and clear," a nasally male voice said. "Station number and badge ID code?"

"Badge ID code 71825." Katie darted to grab the microphone, pressing the button. "But there is no station where we are. I am radioing from on the ground." The static cut back in as she released the button and she closed her eyes while she waited for a response.

The minute that passed by was one of the longest of her life, but when the static cut out again she opened them again. "Katie? Is that you?" A male's voice this time, strangely recognizable to her.

She pressed the button again. "Yes. Dad, it's me. I'm okay. How else would I know my badge number?" She released the button and immediately wished she'd said something less snarky, but waited for a reply. She hadn't even said hello or that she loved him.

The reply was quick and static hardly held for longer than a second. "Now that is definitely my daughter," her father chuckled. "It's so good to hear your voice. Your mom will be so happy to know that I've heard from you."

She held the button again. "It's so good to hear your voice too. Wait, mom's alive?" She hadn't known that until now. When she'd been arrested by Commander Rick Payne she'd only just given her mom the herbal tea mixture with the dissolved medication in it so Melinda couldn't be implicated. Then she remembered the other halting things of the present. "We just found a capsule some ten miles from camp. Was that you?"

Ned had kneeled beside her and he held her free hand, giving it a squeeze. That was all she needed right now. Just a little bit of support, but nothing overbearing.

When she released the button there was no static before her dad replied, "Yes. Your mother made a full recovery. She also sent down some supplies to make sure that everyone would have something to get started... without my approval, but we should have sent it down in the first place. Is there anything you can tell us about conditions on the ground?"

She looked all around her and smiled. "It's beautiful. Everything you could imagine," she explained, wanting to get the full point across. "There are tall trees and fresh air, and God, the sun, it's so warm to just lay in the sun. I saw a waterfall today and it was breathtaking. I could talk about it forever."

"That sounds beautiful. So there is no radiation poisoning?" Her dad asked.

"Not that we know of," she replied. "The only three people who died were from injuries during landing."

"What about the other sixteen?" Her dad asked.

She looked at Landon and then pressed the button. "Dad, listen to me. Don't listen to the bracelet information." She wasn't going to lie. Never again. She tried to get her point across quickly, "They are taking off their bracelets. I repeat they are taking them on because they don't want anyone to follow us down."

Before she could say anything else Landon threw the bolder Ned had used on top of the radio, effectively ruining it for further use.

"What the hell was that for?" She yelled. "We have to tell them the truth."

"I'm sorry, Princess, they can't follow us down here," Landon muttered. "They won't forgive our crimes. It was for your own good."

She wanted to hate him, but she understood where he was coming from, and god she hoped her mom heard what she said in time.

* * *

They met back up with the other group rather quickly and they were more than happy to see all that they'd lugged with them. But after some time it was hard just the three of them to carry so Katie, Ned, and Landon spread out the supplies equally between all six of them so Murphy, Hannah, and Toby had to carry something too.

"Hey, how do we even know this is the right way?" Murphy asked after another ten minutes.

Toby could tell that Katie was sick and tired of Murphy and Landon's complaining, and couldn't wait until they found Jasper and could make their way back to camp. He couldn't wait for that either, mostly because then he could try to sneak her away from Ned and finally talk to her one-on-one, and truly apologize.

But she hadn't given him more than two seconds of time if she had the choice since he had seen her again. Toby didn't blame her, but he wished she would give him a chance at forgiveness. Although, he knew that was a long shot.

"We don't," Landon commented. "Spacewalker here thinks he is a tracker."

"It's called 'cutting sign" and it's a fourth-year Earth skill," Katie corrected them both. It made Toby laugh. She had no fear of making sure they knew she was smarter than them. "And he's pretty good. We've found a steady track of Jasper's blood."

"How are we sure it's his?" Murphy asked.

"Stop asking stupid questions, Murphy," Ned muttered and kept his eyes on the ground for any sign of where foot tracks or blood might lead them. "Who else's would it be?"

He coughed to clear his throat. "You might want to keep it down or should I just paint a target on our backs?"

That's when they split up again, not only to cover more ground but try and be quieter too. Katie went with Ned, Hannah with Murphy, and that left Toby alone with Landon.

He hated being left alone with that guy. It only led to a headache, but he tried his best to push past it and keep an eye on Katie. He noticed Ned picking up a stray branch from the forest floor and examining it with her. There was blood scattered across the leaves, and it must've been fresh when he touched it because he glanced up at her.

"We're close," Ned said a bit louder than before for everyone to hear him and stood up.

"See? You're invisible," Landon pointed out to him again.

"What are you and Murphy on the same team and want me to kick both of your asses?" He asked, but before he could do anything else, a loud scream confirmed Ned's theory and everyone's head turned in the direction they came from.

"What the hell was that?" Murphy asked.

Katie's head turned back to look at Landon. "Now would be a good time to take out that gun. Unless Murphy still has it." Just as they began speed walking towards the screaming, it turned into a low groan, as if the person lost all energy to do anything but.

"Jasper! Oh, my god! He's alive…" Hannah cried out as they all saw her brother sprung on the tree, bleeding profusely from his chest. Ropes were bound tightly around his abdomen and wrists, clinging him to the large oak. "We have to help him!"

Hannah dropped what she was carrying immediately and ran forward, desperately trying to help and get to her brother somehow.

Katie did the same but was running after the young girl instead. "Wait, stop!" Katie ran after her, grabbing hold of her arm just as Hannah lost her footing and almost fell into a hole with spears ready at the bottom for whatever fell below. "I need some help pulling her back here!"

Toby followed Landon as he, Ned, and Murphy all surrounded her and quickly crouched to help pull Hannah back to her feet. Toby didn't help pull Hannah up and instead slipped the gun from out of Landon's waistband and backed away from the group.

He needed to get Katie's attention somehow, and this seemed like the only way he knew that could work. If anything happened he was going to be the one to take charge and save the day this time.

"You okay?" Katie asked, glancing over at Hannah.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Hannah said looking back up at Jasper. "We need to get my brother down."

"I'll climb up and cut the vines," Ned volunteered, setting down the supplies he was carrying. "Murphy, you too. Let's go."

Katie was staring at Jasper, studying him. "There's a poultice on his wound," she said, watching as Ned and Murphy climbed the tree towards Jasper.

"Medicine? Why would they save his life just to string him up as live bait?" Toby asked, glancing over at her.

"Maybe what they're trying to catch likes their dinner breathing," Landon suggested with a shrug.

"Maybe what they're trying to catch is us," Ned suggested as he tried to cut the ropes loose.

Suddenly, a loud growl came from the far woods, over near Landon. Katie's head whipped around and she pulled out one of her knives that she must've tucked inside her boot, and held it in front of her for protection.

He'd never seen her with a weapon before and it was kind of hot to see her wielding it for her own protection. Until Toby remembered who must've given it to her.

"What was that?" Katie asked.

"Grounders?" Hannah whispered meekly.

A large black mass came springing out of the treeline, too fast for anyone to comprehend. There was a snarling snore, almost like a growl, and the thud as the animal pounced.

"Landon, gun!" Katie shouted as the black creature sprinted towards the direction of them all.

Panic entered his body as Landon reached down for his gun and noticed that it's no longer there. The black creature roared and jumped in the middle of the group, separating them quickly as they ran in different directions.

Toby took hold of Katie's arm and pulled her behind him as he pulled out the gun that was in his right hand, extending his arm. The first two shots that rang out missed, but the third one hit the creature in the hind leg and it lost his balance before it could pounce again.

"Katie, run!" He told her as the creature's head whipped around, eyeing him. "NOW!"

She was staring at the gun in his hand and froze as he took another two shots, and the animal gave a loud whimper before falling, dead on the ground. He shot again, and again to make sure the animal was down and ran out of bullets before he dropped it.

"Now she sees you," Landon pointed out to him with a slight smirk.

It only took a moment for the moment to wash away and for Katie to run towards him, yelling, shoving him backward. "Is that what this was about? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What are you talking about?" He fought back, grabbing hold of her arm before she could hit him again. "I just saved your life! The least I could get is a thank you."

"What were you thinking when you took that gun? Did you think that I would forgive you that easily?" She yelled, scoffing, and stepping away from him. "You could have gotten us all killed with that stunt, Toby."

"Hey!" Hannah said, stepping in between them. "Break it up!"

"I got it!" Murphy yelled, and it pulled their attention away. "Jasper is loose. We are gonna need some help getting him down."

Ned opened his arms and basically hugged Jasper, carrying him down to the ground with Murphy's help. Katie pulled out the makeshift cot they had brought made out of parachutes and had them place Jasper down onto it.

Toby walked over and grabbed one corner of the fabric, while Murphy and Ned grabbed the one nearest to them and Katie grabbed the last available one. Hannah and Landon used the extra parachute to bundle up supplies the best they could because this was going to be a long trek back to the base camp.

* * *

When Melinda woke sometime either that evening or early the next day, she felt indifferent about the outcome that was awaiting her. She felt happy that she could send help to Katie and the kids on the ground with her, even if it meant losing her life, but part of her wished Jim would wake up.

If he did, he could pardon her. But she knew how slim the chances of that happening were. There was an even slimmer chance that Jim would even be conscious for long enough to be lucid and understand the severity of what was going on, but all she could hope for was that he wouldn't hate her if he did happen to wake up and she was already dead.

Just then, the doors to the cell opened. It wasn't Josh this time, instead it was someone she didn't recognize, and probably exactly for that reason.

"Councilor Clancy, it's time." The man said, waving her to come forward instead of marching in to grab her.

Melina walked over to him and he bound her wrists before she could hold them out, and shoved in front of him. She wanted to say something but bit her tongue when she saw there were two other guards with their guns drawn. She didn't want to give them any reason to shoot her.

She walked forward and down several hallways that they led her down until she was met by Andrea and a few other friendly faces from the council and from her life. There were even a few foes, including Rick. Jim wasn't there, and that concluded everything for her.

He wasn't awake and she was going to die. There was nothing anyone could do about it with Rick being in charge and having the final say.

The guards that held Melinda brought her to the end of the airlock chamber and she turned around forcibly from the guard's grasp to face her best friend. "Andrea," she whispered, and her friend wrapped her arms around her in a hug, even though she could hold her back. "Tell Jim I'm sorry, and Katie too… if you ever get the chance."

Andrea hugged onto her tightly, sobbing all the while. "I will. I love you, Mel."

"That's enough," Rick ordered from across the room.

"I love you too," she said, pressing a quick kiss to her friend's cheek as a guard yanked them apart, and she could see that Andrea wanted to fight the men who grabbed her, but she shook her head for her not to. "Watch out for Katie for me," she reminded her, her lip quivering, but she shoved the guards away from her. "Don't touch me. I can walk on my own to my death, thank you very much."

"Always has to be strong-headed, even now," Rick scoffed and the airlock chamber opened. "Step inside, Melinda."

She hesitated, almost wishing that if she gave herself one more second that Jim would somehow arrive, but nothing happened.

"Step inside, Melinda," Rick repeated.

"You know, I always thought you got over the fact that I dumped you in high school." She said, one final jab at him as she slowly walked across the line.

When she turned around, she could see that everyone was trying not to look directly at her. Almost everyone. Rick was smiling now, his hand on the red button that would open the chamber behind her and kill her.

Andrea wasn't there and she understood. Not everyone could handle the sight of seeing someone get sucked out of an open airlock chamber.

Her head fell and she was stared at the ground, and her ugly and worn combat boots as the door in front of her began to close. Everything inside her shouted for her to run, to slide out as quickly as she could, but knew she would only be met with guns pointed at her.

Only just as she resigned to her fate and said a silent prayer while the door in front of her sealed shut, a shout pierced through the air.

"Stop! Stop this nonsense!"

Melinda's eyes flew open and she watched as her husband limped into the room, assisted by Andrea as he leaned on her. Is that where her best friend had gone? She saw Josh LeTrai there too and she had to tell everything inside her not to break right there.

"Stop the execution! Councilor Melinda is pardoned." Jim shouted as he looked to Andrea and Josh both with a smile of thanks and moved away from her on his own towards Rick. "I will deal with you later." His face turned feral as his jaw set firm. "Open the door." The guard looked to Rick instead of Jim and she noticed a slight change in her husband as he took a step closer to grab the control pad from the young man's hand. "Fine. I'll do it my damn self, and you're fired."

Once the door opened, Jim threw the control pad back at the rookie guard and embraced her the best he could, and Melinda held the man she loved close. "You cut it a little close," she said, trying to hold in her emotions the best she could, but felt her tears stain his shirt.

"I'm sorry," he whispered and she helped him walk out of the bay area, leaving Rick and his men behind for now. "I went to check on Katie..."

She sighed. "You just got out of surgery yesterday, Jim," she said, shaking her head. "You shouldn't be up walking at all."

He cleared his throat, "Even to pardon you?"

"That I am fine with," she said, laughing with him as she kissed his cheek. "But we need to get you back to bed before you rupture something or pull your stitches loose."

He nodded. "Back to bed I go," he said. "But you need to be my eyes. I spoke with Katie."

She shook her head. That was impossible. "Come again?" She asked.

"I know, but Melinda, she radioed in." He told her. "There must've been a radio on that capsule you sent. It was only for a little bit of time, but I talked to her."

She looked up at him as he told her this and they'd stopped walking in the middle of the station seven hallway. She hadn't known that there had been a radio in the capsule she sent down. "Well how is she? How are the conditions on the ground?" She asked, a million different questions milling around her head.

Not only was Jim alive, up and walking, but she was too, and now she would know how her daughter was doing too.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a lot of plot and some of the good stuff I've been wanting to write for the last three chapters! There may even be a little angst and sadness too, but don't be too sad because I promise it will all get better soon! Enjoy xx Mariah

**Jim — 42  
** **Melinda — 42  
** **Andrea — 42  
** **Rick — 35  
** **Eli — 32  
** **Josh — 30  
Landon — 18  
** **Ned — 18  
** **Adam — 18  
** **Katie — 17  
** **Toby — 17** **  
** **Jasper — 17  
** **Trina — 16  
** **Murphy — 16  
** **Hannah — 15  
** **Mackenzie — 14**

* * *

After about three hours of helping Toby tend to Jasper, Katie was exhausted and had needed a break. She had only lent a helping hand out of Jasper's sake and the fact that she had always been better at sewing stitches than Toby was even though his father was the Ark's main doctor. But when she walked out of the dropship and saw Ned, who was leaning up against the wall outside, she wasn't sure if he was waiting for her.

They hadn't really talked much since their kiss, but she assumed he wasn't when she noticed he was staring at the line formed around the campfire for food.

He was probably just waiting for the right time to sneak over into the line. He probably wasn't waiting for her, but just in case he was, she walked up to him.

"Jasper is stable, but I'm not sure how much longer he will last without medicine. Infection may start to set in soon if he isn't lucky." She sighed, and that was when she noticed the pile of broken off wristbands at the end of the line. "Are Landon and Murphy making them take their bracelets off for food? No way! I-I won't do it. I'll starve if I have to."

There was no way they could make her. Never in a million years.

She knew that her parents would not react well to thinking she was dead, and possibly never send anyone to the ground after them if they thought she was. She still didn't know if her mother had heard her full message about everyone taking their wristbands off, and she just couldn't let that happen.

Ned glanced up at her. "I know. Don't worry," he said, smirking. "You don't have to do anything rash like that, okay?" Maybe he was into her, she thought as she watched him walk up to the front of the line and grab two sticks with large pieces of meat on the end.

No-one stopped him at first, but then Murphy stepped in front of him before he could walk away. "Whoa, whoa… wait, wait, wait," Murphy chuckled. "What, do you think you play by different rules?"

Ned shrugged. "I thought there were no rules. I thought that was the whole point behind taking off the wristbands." He said, walking past him and over to her. "Here you go."

He led her away from the ship a bit and off into their own private area, but not too far from the rest of the group. It gave them some space.

She noticed Toby and Murphy were both staring at them as she took the stick and brought the greasy, warm meat to her mouth. It was making her mouth water just looking at it and took a bite. After chewing and swallowing, she sat down beside Ned on the forest floor.

"Thank you," she said, smiling at him, taking another bite.

"Anytime, princess," he said and winked at her, taking his own bite.

After a few more bites of food she looked up at him. "You know, talking to my father today was a lot for me." She sighed. "I hadn't seen them since before I was arrested because I was in solitary. I didn't even know if my mom was alive."

He nodded, leaning back against the tree behind him. "How do you feel about it?" He asked before taking another bite of food.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Knowing your mother is alive," he replied. "And talking with your father, I could see how emotional it made you. Did you have a good relationship with him?"

She smiled and looked over at him. "Yes. Better than good. He's always been there for me whenever I needed him to be, and to know my mother is alive is a dream come true." She said, letting a bit of the dam release as a tear or two rolled down her cheeks. "I thought she was gone for so long… I never knew for sure so I just had to keep positive."

He had finished eating by the time she was done talking and embraced her. It was the first kind of comfort she had had from him since he'd kissed her under the waterfall, and they hadn't even had a chance to talk about that in all of the fuss.

After they pulled back, she couldn't take it any longer. "Are we going to talk about what happened?" She asked.

He smiled and wiped his mouth off with his long-sleeved shirt. "Would you like to?" He asked.

She sighed. "Am I just some joke to you? I thought you said you cared about me, Ned, and I can see that you do, but in other ways you just confuse me." She took a big piece of meat with her next bite, hoping that was a sign enough that she wanted him to talk to her.

The one thing Katie knew was that she wasn't going to spread her legs just because they had been sprung out of prison lockup like half of the camp had begun to do lately.

His face fell and he shook his head. He sighed and took the kabob of meat from her, laying it on his lap because he didn't care about stains as much as she did and he already knew that about her.

He took hold of her hands and brought them to his lips and then to rest on his face. "Katie, no… I kid around, I know that, but I care about you. I thought you could at least tell that. I have tried to save your life twice already." He moved in slightly closer to her and leaned their foreheads together. "I've never had a real relationship before and all I've ever done is the fake fling or friends with benefits thing, but I know that's not what I want to do with you. I care too much about you to ever treat you like that."

She breathed in slowly as she listened to all of this and once he was finished she kissed him. It was her time to make the first move and she cared about him too. She might even love him just a little, but she knew that was just the chemicals in her brains from the feel of his lips on hers tied with that he'd saved her life. Right?

* * *

Katie pulled her sleeping bag over her head, sighing as Jasper groaned again. He had been in pain all night, moaning and groaning, keeping everyone in camp awake. Hannah was somehow dead asleep beside her, snoring through it all.

Ned could tell that she couldn't bear to hear the sound anymore, even if she cared for Jasper because she just needed to get some sleep. If she didn't, he wasn't sure how annoyed or crabby she would get, and that never ended well for anyone. And he knew that all from knowing her for three days.

The floor of the dropship didn't make for a very comfortable bed, but Katie tried her best to find some position that didn't feel like living hell. It wasn't very easy.

"Hey, princess," he said, approaching her finally, his hand reaching under her arm and trying to wake her.

"Go away," she said, sinking further into her sleeping bag. "I haven't fallen asleep yet."

"Katie, come with me," he said and she finally opened her eyes. He always said her name to get her attention, and for some reason, he could that she liked it. "You won't get any sleep on this floor. Trust me."

She sighed, nodding. She was too exhausted to do anything else and quickly stood, and followed him out of the dropship. He led her to a beige tent, visibly larger than a few others she saw, right to the side of the rest of the tents that had been put up the night before.

At first, she thought Ned was a genius for claiming one of the tents out of the capsule her mother had sent down, but then she thought everyone would think badly of her for staying with him in it. She had avoided taking anything other than a sleeping bag and water canteen for herself. But then she thought everything over again and thought he might be trying to make some sort of move and pulled away from him.

"Hey, it's just so you can get some sleep. I won't bother you," he said as he looked back at her to make sure she had followed him as he lifted the cover of the tent up, revealing a cozy enough looking bed. "I mean, not unless you want me to."

"What will other people think?" She asked, noticing a few people staring at them.

He dropped the flap and walked up to her, smirking. "Probably that we're going to pound town, but we'll know the truth. I would never do something that you didn't want me to and we're taking things slow, remember?" She chuckled a little at that and grabbed his hand as she pulled him into the tent behind her. When she turned to face him, he let the tent flap fall closed and he began to tease her. "But what will people think of us, Katie?"

"Whatever they want to," she said, plopping down on the makeshift bed. "We're taking things slow, right?"

It was so much comfier than the dropship ever wished it could be and she practically moaned as she stretched her body out to get comfortable. She was a dream spread out and with a serene smile on her face. When she caught him staring at her, his tongue wetting his plump lips, she waved for him to lay down beside her.

"You gonna come to lay down with me?" She asked as he shuffled his weight on both feet and he tried to make his decision. He wanted to, but there was something inside him holding him back. He didn't feel good enough for her. "What's wrong? Did I do something?"

"You didn't have to do anything, Katie. Trust me," he said, moving to sit near the edge of the bed where her feet are. "You're perfect."

He saw a look, a confused and almost angry one as she sat up. "No, I am not." She muttered.

"Princess," he shook his head. "You are."

"Hey, look at me. You are worthy," she told him, reading his mind and taking hold of his hand. "You are worthy of being my choice, Ned Banks."

She tugged on his hand and he followed, wordlessly, until he was lying beside her. Every single move he made was calculated and he didn't want to go too far too quickly. They had only kissed one time, and while he wanted to do it again, he couldn't tell if she wanted him to.

They were taking things slow and he didn't want to rush her, but her eyes were closed and she was so close to him that he could smell the smoke from the fire that clung to her hair. His heart drummed loudly as she rolled closer to him, her hand sliding around his torso as her head came to rest on his chest.

"Is this alright?" She asked, opening one eye to look up at him.

Could she feel how fast his heart was beating? He nodded in reply and she smiled as her hand rubbed his side.

What am I doing, he thought, reaching out for her neck. He brushed the hair off her shoulder, and then with a soft caress along the shell of her ear, curled a piece of stray hair behind it.

Katie shivered at the touch and breathed out heavily near his cheek. Ned looked at her from the corner of his eyes. A good kiss was all in the presentation, too. No one should just smack lips together and go for it.

He leaned in from the side, tilting his head. She was breathing through her mouth, and he could feel her hot breath wash over his face as he slowly captured her lips with his own again. With his bottom lip catching beneath hers, and she moaned softly against his mouth.

The reverberation sent a tingle throughout his nerves and deep into his belly, and he realized he never wanted this to end. Holding the side of her neck, he deepened the kiss just slightly, grazing her lips with his tongue. She parted her lips instinctively for him, knowing just what to do, and his mind went to Toby.

To an image of her somewhere on the Ark, pulling someone other than him close. It was enough to pull away and as hesitant as he was when he felt her fingers sliding into his hair, he did so anyway.

"What?" She muttered, half-there.

He pulled away and the air was cold against his face, but he stayed close, following her face with his as she laid on her back slowly. "We should try and get some sleep."

Katie's eyes come open slowly like her eyelids were stuck down. "Right. Taking things slow." She giggled, leaning in to kiss him chastely and sensually. "Goodnight, Ned." She smiled sideways at him, bemused, as he eyes fell closed again.

What was he going to do?

* * *

To her amazement, Katie slept for almost six hours, not waking once. Jasper still groaned when she slid out of bed and put her combat boots on, but at least she had gotten some sleep.

She walked out of Ned's tent and a few people's heads turned, most-likely getting the wrong idea, but she didn't give a shit at this point. They could think what they wanted about her and she wasn't going to change the way she acted that's for damn sure.

She noticed Ned and Murphy standing over by the trees with some nice-looking knives and she decided to join them and see what they were up to. Murphy launched a knife toward the tree, attempting to make it stick. It didn't. The knife hit the tree and then clattered to the ground.

"That damn kid, always messing with my head," Murphy mumbled, walking forward to retrieve his knife off of the ground.

"He's not going to last much longer at this rate," Ned commented. "Better think of a better excuse."

She ignored that comment for the sake of Jasper and walked over to them, standing next to Ned. "Can I try?" She asked.

Murphy let out a loud laugh. "You? The Ark Princess? The one who got her own capsule sent down?"

"It was sent down for everyone, Murphy. Get your facts straight," she muttered and held out her hand. "I want to try."

Ned eyed her for only a moment before handing her a knife. "Just try to give it a good throw with power behind it or it won't stick." He said in a teaching manner.

Katie turned it in her hand at a 90-degree angle, grasping the blade lightly before throwing it straight for the tree. "I know," she told him with an eye roll.

This wasn't her first time practicing with throwing knives, though this makeshift shiv definitely wasn't as good as her father's throwing set back up on the Ark. The blade caught the bark perfect and stuck its landing as she had intended, and she took a small bow.

"Now, that's how it's done," Ned said with an impressed grin on his face. "Not your first time?"

"My dad and I used to do this from time to time to blow off steam. Boxing too sometimes," she said with a shrug. She boxed with her mother sometimes too, but that's beside the point.

"Are you trying to tell me something?" He asked, handing her another knife that she threw into the tree and it hit just beside the first one she'd thrown.

She laughed and turned her head to look at him. He was so close she could kiss him if she wanted to, and from the look on his face, he knew she was thinking that too. "Maybe I'm trying to tell you I pack a hard punch, Spacewalker." She teased him.

Murphy was still glaring at them and was about to say something when someone she recognized but didn't know their name walked up, interrupting him.

"We searched a mile in all directions," the boy said, crossing his arms. "No sign of Trina or Landon."

"Trina and Landon are missing?" She asked, confused about who Trina was but that didn't matter if she and Landon had gone missing. She was probably the latest girl he was trying to sleep with. "Do you have any leads?"

Ned turned to look at her, smiling despite the subject. "You slept for a while, princess, and no, we aren't sure what happened. They went for a walk to get some air last night and never returned."

"Could be grounders if they walked far enough," she suggested. "But I doubt it if it was dark. Maybe they are lost?"

"Yeah, or they could be in pound town," Murphy said, chuckling as he looked at her and Ned. "There is a lot of that going around lately."

As if on queue, Jasper moaned loudly from the dropship, making everyone around her grimace. She had been meaning to check on him since she woke up but the throwing knife game had distracted her. "Make all the assumptions you want about Trina and Pascal, but leave me out of it." She said, rolling her eyes as she stood up. "I'm gonna go check on Jasper and see how he's going."

"Look, Katie isn't it?" The boy who walked up before said as he stepped in her pathway. "People are scared, and that dying kid, he's not helping the morale around here."

"You're not suggesting we kill him, are you?" She practically yelled, looking between the other people around her, including Ned. "Who is this guy?"

"Adam, enough," Ned said, looking at her and then back at the boy. "Morale will go up when we find more food. I saw some wild boar on the canvas for Trina and Pascal this morning."

"All I am saying is that he is not helping," Adam muttered. "What should I say when people start asking about Trina and Landon?"

"Now? Nothing. It's impossible they're just lost and we'll keep an eye out for them when we go hunting later." Ned answered, sighing.

Katie walked away, uninterested in the conversation anymore, and more interested in making sure her friend was okay. She walked into the dropship and climbed up the ladder to the second floor.

"This is infected," Toby said, examining Jasper's wound and glancing up as she walked up to him. "He could be septic. Hey, Katie…"

"How's he doing?" She asked, then glancing over at the pile of the tracking wristbands that were sitting in the corner. There was a boy examining them, a little bit smaller than the rest of the guys around camp, but that necessarily didn't mean anything. She had seen him hanging around with a couple of other kids from station 5 which meant he was probably an engineer's son or apprentice. "Any progress on using the wristbands to contact the Ark? Uh… what's your name again?"

"It's Monty, and it's no big deal. I'm pretty forgettable," the boy said. "But as of now, that's a firm no."

"Jasper isn't doing good, Katie. He's going into septic shock and is going to die if I can't stop it." Toby explained seriously. "I don't see why any of that wristband stuff matters anyway. We don't need the damn councilors following us down. They will just throw us away like they did before."

"What makes you think that?" She asked. "Since when did you side with Landon and the rest of those guys?"

He scoffed. "A lot of people think like that, Katie. This isn't about just you," he muttered. "My father told me he would never forgive me for what I let you do, so why should he, and your father, and every other corrupt person on the Ark get to come down here and ruin everything for the hundred?"

She didn't know where this was coming from, and she didn't like it. This wasn't the Toby she knew, the Toby she had dated for three years, or even the Toby who turned her in and she cast away. The boy or man even was a stranger and she backed away from him, and back toward the ladder. "You aren't thinking clearly, Toby." She told him. "I just hope you don't do anything rash."

He chuckled darkly and stood up. "Like what, take off my wristband? I already did." He told her. "I think you should too."

Toby showed her his bare wrist and she sighed and grabbed hold of the ladder. She didn't want to be a part of this conversation anymore. "Good for you, Tob. I'm glad you could finally figure out what side you wanted to be on."

"This isn't about sides, Katie." He shouted as he grabbed hold of her arm and tried to push her away from the ladder, but wasn't quick enough. She climbed down quickly, but so did he. She gulped as he jumped down after her and grabbed hold of her shoulder roughly, yanking her back toward him. "This is about what's right for the people your father sent to the ground." The dropship was empty during the day as most people wanted to enjoy the sunlight and no one was going to stop him from overpowering her. "This is about saving the human race. If your father comes down here nothing will change, and the one thing I know that will stop both Jim and Melinda from following is if they think you're dead."

"No, I won't take it off." She said, shaking her head. "You can't make me. Landon destroyed the radio and this is my last lifeline to them. I won't do it." She ducked low before he could grab her and screamed, hoping for the love of God at least Ned would hear her and come running if he truly cared about her. Before she knew it Toby was lying on top of her from behind. "Get off of me! You son of a bitch, get off of me!"

"Why don't you see that nothing will ever change? Your mother sent a capsule down here because she was so worried about you. This is what's right and what we have to do." He chuckled as she thrashed underneath him, but she knew that he had her pinned. She wasn't going anywhere until he wanted to let her go. "You wanted me to be the bad guy, right? You hate me?" He whispered in her ear. "Well, now that's what I am and you can hate me for real this time." He raised his head, shouting louder. "Hey, Murphy! I got a present for you."

She heard the scuff of boots against the floor, even a few chuckles of boys as they came up the ramp from outside the dropship. Murphy kneeled in front of her and placed the hot crowbar in place, prying the metal from her wrist while she kicked and screamed.

"Stop it, please! I'm begging you," she pleaded, but it was to deaf ears.

Once it was removed Toby let her go and wasn't pinning her as tightly, and as if on purpose Murphy dragged the sharp end of the crowbar against her skin. A large gash down the middle of her arm for her to remember forever. "That's for my brother. He begged for mercy when your father floated him." Murphy muttered under his breath as he spat on her and stood before he walked away.

A million questions filled her head, but only four felt as though they mattered: Had this been Ned's plan all along? Had he worked Toby into it? Or did he know nothing? And lastly, would her parents hate her?

* * *

Melinda was asleep at her work station when she heard the siren go off. It was a loud, blaring noise that sounded every time one of the wristbands transmission was terminated.

They had been losing people at a steady rate for the last two days and of the hundred kids they had sent down to the ground had dwindled to less than thirty. At least to their knowledge from these bracelets. They knew it wasn't radiation and her heart sped up just thinking about Katie again.

Jim had talked to their daughter again. That was the only reason she had been able to sleep, even if the conversation was cut off. She wasn't sure if it was because the radio was so old that it had died or other unforeseen issues, but Katie's bracelet hadn't told her anything besides that she had a high heart rate which could mean a number of things.

Melinda hoped it was because her daughter was happy to talk to her father and possibly as upset as he had been when things were cut off, but that was all her own thinking.

One thing she did know was that Katie was trying to get some sort of message across to them. Something about the bracelets, but it had all been jumbled.

"Who did we lose?" She muttered groggily as she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

Andrea had muttered something, but she wasn't completely awake yet and hadn't heard it. Melinda was staring at the piece of paper in front of her and the garbled words her daughter had said were written down in the transmission of the sound bits they had recorded.

Jim had smartly recorded their entire conversation as it happened because he couldn't believe it was happening. He had thought it was a hallucination from pain medication, but even when she heard her sweet daughter's voice it just felt like a dream.

Only a second later there was a crash and it broke her train of thought. Melinda turned her head to see her friend had dropped her coffee mug. She looked to the screen above and saw her daughter's face behind the newly blinking dark title.

_**Transmission Terminated.** _

She felt uneasy as she stood up and rushed up to the screen, hoping that for some reason if she looked closely at everything that could do something to change the situation.

It couldn't be possible, she told herself. Her eyes must be deceiving her. But then why does her mouth still drop open in shock, her arms hanging loosely by her side? If this wasn't real then why was it that when she inhaled, it was shakily, as if her lungs have forgotten how to work?

Nothing else mattered at that moment. There was a ringing in her ears, a stabbing pain in her heart. Her daughter. Her sweet, innocent, and caring daughter might be dead, and all because of her. Katie would have never been sent to the ground in the first place if she hadn't stolen that medication for her.

Melinda faintly heard the door open as she fell to her knees, sobbing. She yelled out but felt strong arms around her. She cried out in pain, hating that anyone saw her like this but she couldn't do anything else but cry.

"No!" She whimpered. "No, this can't be right. It can't."

"Melinda," Jim's voice whispered into her ear and she immediately relaxed into his arms instead of fighting whoever it might've been away from her. "Stop, baby… just stop. This is my fault."

"No," She had yelled this more than once, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't just accept that. It couldn't be true. "It's not conclusive. Just because her wristband went out doesn't mean…" She was trying to find some other reason. Katie couldn't be dead. She just couldn't. "She isn't dead. You just talked to her."

"Baby, we don't know." He said, shaking his head. "You remember what she said… we don't know what the wristbands are telling us."

"I would know if she was dead," she said firmly, her voice whimpering. "I heard her voice on the audio when she said that she was okay and there isn't any radiation poisoning." Her entire body wouldn't stop shaking as he held her. "Katie isn't gone, Jim. I would feel it. She isn't dead. I know this in my soul."

* * *

Ned was standing outside the half-built wall around the dropship they had begun to build, about to lead out a group to hunt when he heard it. A scream. He turned, knowing that was not the same voice as Jasper as he noticed Murphy and a few of his goons had disappeared from the party.

"Hold up," he said to the few left around him. "We're missing a few. Let me go find them."

There was something wrong about the way that scream sounded. It almost was like — another and another, this time weaker and like a desperate cry for help. Katie.

He took off running as Murphy had walked outside and he came into the dropship as Toby climbed off of her. She was a crumpled mess on the floor, sobbing and clutching her hand in pain. The silver wristband was broken and left beside her.

"It had to be done," Toby said, shrugging.

Ned had him pinned up against the wall without another thought, his shiv pulled out and pinned against his neck. The boy chuckled, hands up defensively as he tried to move his hand enough to shove him off, but he wasn't going to give him the chance.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now," he snarled, pressing the blade in just enough to draw some blood.

"Do it. They already think I'm dead anyway," Toby said, smiling. "Then you'd have no competition."

"He's not worth it, Ned," she said shakily, and he felt her hand on his shoulder. "Let's go."

Ned turned to see her standing there, tear stricken face and bloodied arm. He let go of Toby, but only to embrace Katie. "What did they do to you?" He whispered, holding her arm after he pulled back from their hug.

"Toby pinned me down when he called Murphy and his goons to take my wristband off," she muttered, shrugging. "Murphy had some fun with it. I'm moving past it."

"I'll kill him," he was burning with anger. He wanted them all dead for this. If Katie had wanted to take her bracelet off that had been one thing, but to force and torture her to do it was plain cruel. "They'll pay for this, Katie."

She shook her head. "Ned, I just… I don't want to talk about it."

Ned sighed and nodded. "I was going to lead a hunting party, but first I want to clean and take a look at your arm." He said as he led her out of the dropship and back towards their tent. He was never letting her out of his sight again.

She shook her head. "No. Don't. You should go," she whispered.

He shook his head. "I'm not leaving you right now, okay?" He turned to embrace her. "Not after what just happened." When she held on as tightly as she could to him, he knew that he could rest easy knowing at least he'd gotten this right.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just some more plot on the ground and the good ole stuff down below for Katie and Ned ;) If you know what I mean... Enjoy xx Mariah

"Are you sure you're alright?"

The question was gruff- a perfunctory response to the news of seeing her injury.

Katie had been asked the same four times in the thirty seconds it took to walk bleeding from the dropship to her and Ned's tent at the far end of the camp next to the currently-being-built wall.

But it was who's asking the question that makes all the difference, and of course, how well she can read into the actual concern in Ned's eyes that make her respond with more than the standard 'I'm fine' she's adopted when the spotlight was somehow turned on her rather than someone else.

"I think I'm going to need stitches." She errantly waved her half-assed bandaged arm in his general direction, before reaching to grab cloth strips and alcohol she would have to use to sterilize the cut. "But more than anything, it's my pride that's been wounded the deepest. Toby betrayed me again and I let him."

"Don't worry about it. They will get their due when the time comes," he told her, glaring over in their direction. "They don't just get to get away with this, Katie. We have to do something or we are no better than the grounders who attacked Jasper."

"I know," she sighed and screwed open the top of the moonshine someone had smuggled onto the dropship. "Just promise me you won't go overboard."

Ned rolled his eyes, "Yeah, whatever." He was going to go overboard if he was confronted about it. She already knew this about him and noted the disdain in his voice. Ned had never been one to suffer fools and she could only imagine the words between them all if she let him have his revenge. "Promise me, Ned."

He nodded. "I promise, Katie." He sighed with a sigh.

They shared a moment of easy silence as she popped open her makeshift needle kit.

Usually, Katie was the one who had done this around camp for the few people who had happened to cut themselves badly in the last few days. And that was a lot more than some would think considering none of these kids had ever used an ax or hammer before unless it was their trained profession on the Ark and half of the teen sent down here were locked up before any assignments began to be given out.

Now they were trying to build walls and chop firewood or even hunt.

"Do you need any help with that?" Katie looked up sharply from her process of sterilizing the sewing needle used for stitches. Ned gestured to her arm, "I may not be a doctor, but I'm not a bad stitch."

"That's right," she murmured, considering his offer. "Your mother was a seamstress right?"

Ned's cool, blank face flattened. "Among other things," he muttered.

Katie didn't know what else he was referring to, but she vaguely remembered the nice woman named Delia who stitched and hemmed many of her and her family's clothes. Well, most clothes on the Ark.

With a brief moment of hesitation, she offered him the needle and her bleeding arm. Whether or not he looked relieved at her acceptance of his help, well that was his business. Admitting trust and showing it was two separate things after all.

She laid back on the bed and tried to ignore the sudden drumming of her heart as she watched him prepare. He doused his hands in a bit of moonshine and accepted the needle, threading black thread to the end. She noticed how Ned's hands didn't shake at all, even as he stepped between her legs to get better access and gripped her injured arm on his own.

On the contrary, her own hand trembled for a moment as Ned's thumb brushed the inside of her wrist to soothe her. "Hey, just breathe and stay still," he commanded slowly, slipping the needle into her forearm.

Katie bit her lip to keep from crying out. Pain medication was make-believe down here.

Nevertheless, the needle weaving through her skin hurt like a bitch and she stared longingly toward the canvas ceiling of the tent. What she wouldn't give for medicine from the Ark.

"Do you think my parents will be okay?" She asked, solely to distract herself from her hand. "For so long I didn't even know for sure if my mom was alive after everything… and now, the roles are switched. She going to think I'm dead and I don't know how to feel about that."

Ned didn't seem at all put off by the bluntness of the question, instead, he glanced up at her face once before refocusing on her cut.

"I think it would be hard for anyone to lose their child, but maybe they'll have hope." He said, trying to do his work as quickly as possible. "You did just talk to your father. Maybe he heard what you said."

"Hope?" She shut her eyes tightly at a particular painful throb. Ned murmured an apology and didn't say anything when her good hand came up to grasp his arm. "What is this concept of hope anymore Ned?"

"It's not a joke, Princess." He told her, a smile edging on his face as he kept his concentration on her forearm. "You know, my mother always told me a parent knows when their child is hurting or even dying. I say your folks will know you are still alive because they will feel it, you know? You said you have a strong connection with them, right?"

She tried to let his words sink in, but that little nagging voice in the back of her head wouldn't let her. "Careful, Ned, you're beginning to sound like you could be my boyfriend." She teased him slightly as her own mind had to her. She cut him some slack though and smiled. "Which by the way, happy birthday."

He didn't have a response to that. He finished her stitches in silence, before tying the cloth strips around her arm. When that was finished, she shifted into a sitting position, feeling aware of how close it put her and Ned's bodies together as he remained between where her legs had parted.

"Thank you," he said, smiling. "I never thought I would live past this day up on the Ark and here I am… with the Chancellor's pretty daughter." When she moved to slip from beneath him, his hand shot out to encircle her wrist. He held it tightly in his palm, not releasing it when she tugged at first, but not tight enough to hurt her. "I want that with you, Katie. I do. I care about you."

Katie raised her head a bit to meet his eyes when he used her first name.

While it became increasingly more common for him to abandon his favorite nickname in favor of her given name, it was still always a shock with the depth of intensity when he did.

"I mean it." He told her, inching closer. "I want you to be that person for me."

"I feel the same way about you, Ned." She sensed he knew that, with the heated way his gaze locked on her own. She felt something in her stomach tighten, something that felt both the same and ten times stronger than it had when she felt this way about Toby. "You saved my life that first day and I don't think I have ever looked past since."

Katie felt strange just then at that moment.

It was like a magnetic pull was drawing her into him.

Her hands were on his chest and she didn't even know when they got there, but Ned's hands were still resting on her arm.

Slowly, he moved them to her face, caressing her cheeks as their noses touched and then their foreheads too.

They stayed there, faces pressed up against each other for a moment, just enjoying each other.

"Katie," he whispered, pulling back to hold her gaze. "I want this if you do."

 _You have so many muscles_ , she thought, touching his chest with the palms of her hands.

Her heart was racing as she looked up into his face again. "I want to," she told him.

Suddenly, his arms were pulling her closer until their chests were touching, and her hands slid up his chest to his neck, pulling him down to her mouth. After a few moments, she found them leaning back into the bed and the needle kit cast aside.

They were kissing heatedly now and she ran her hands over his chest, and he slid his hands behind her back. Katie should have questioned it. She probably should have thought they had better things to do than this, but the thought never crossed her mind the whole time. She wanted him in every way possible. She wanted to feel alive.

Ned's mouth was hot against her neck as he diligently nipped and sucked at the delicate skin, each circular mark that he left in his wake earning him a throaty moan from the brunette writhing beneath him.

Katie tried to concentrate on other things – she really did – but the way he was pressing his pelvis against her caused all other thoughts to be eclipsed. _Ned Banks was fucking huge._

She let out a small whimper then and was pleased to hear that it sounded less desperate than she felt. A low rumble echoed through his chest as he brought a hand between them, turning his attention to the clasp of her jeans.

She dug her nails into his shoulders, cutting half-moons into the flesh even through the material of his shirt. His fingers traced the seam of her underwear, teasing a promise of what was to come. Impatiently, she ground her hips against him, and she could feel his resulting groan vibrate through her own body.

"Easy, princess," he cautioned, aligning his mouth to nip at the corner of her jaw. "I thought we were taking things slow?"

"We can," she said, threading her fingers through the golden curls at the base of his neck.

With a sharp tug, his chin was angling upward, forcing him to look down at her through slanted eyes. He met her challenge by plunging his hand into her panties, fingertips sliding smoothly against her. She gasped, her thigh muscles clamping around his waist a little more tightly as she released her hold on his hair. Eyelids heavy, she allowed her head to knockback against the soft bed behind her.

Katie canted her hips to meet his efforts, a hum emanating from somewhere deep in her throat. "Mmm, Ned," she whimpered.

"Holy shit, Katie." The list of things that were capable of shocking Ned was short. Finding a veritable puddle in her underwear as a result of his ministrations was on that list.

"Ned—" The low, gravelly tone of her voice cut through his train of thought, anchoring his body in the present.

"Mm?" Her eyes were still closed when he kissed the hollow spot just below her ear.

"Stop talking," she commanded, rocking her hips to guide his hand closer to her entrance.

It was all the encouragement he needed because a moment later he was slipping one, then two, fingers inside her, relishing in the way small sighs escaped the cage of her lips each time he curled them inward.

It wasn't long before she was bucking against him, and she could feel that familiar knot forming in the pit of her stomach. It was like a spring being wound tighter and tighter, and just when she thought she couldn't stave off her release a second longer—

"Ned?" It was Murphy's voice, and just hearing it made her want to kill him all over again. She could tell Ned did too by the grimace on her face. "We're heading out on the hunt."

Murphy wasn't about to ruin this for either of them.

"Go on without me. The boar I saw was about ten miles to the west," he said, his hand lightly covering her mouth as he pulled back. He leaned back down and pressed a kiss to her lip this time. "That will give us a few hours without anyone coming to disturb us."

She chuckled as they kissed this time, her cold hands meeting his warm, rock-hard stomach as she slid his pants down from his hips. He did the same to her and they slowly undressed each other until they were wrapped in each other, skin to skin.

She took that moment to stop them, taking the moment to kiss him and share a glance with him. "I should tell you something," she whispered and he turned his head slightly in confusion like she'd seen dogs do in movies, and she smiled. "Ned, I want this… I want you, but I have to be honest with you. I am a virgin."

He sighed and smiled. "I thought you were gonna tell me something way worse than that, Princess." He said, shaking his head as he leaned down to kiss her. "I suspected the moment you started to give Landon crap for asking you the first day we landed."

She rolled her eyes. "Why does it matter? Why did I worry so much about telling you that?" She sighed.

"Because even after two hundred years of being up in space, men still oppress women for their sexual desires," he pointed out rather smoothly with a shrug. "But that doesn't mean I will judge you. As long as you won't judge me for saying I am not a virgin."

She leaned up and kissed him. "I had a sneaking suspicion after how well you've performed so far," she laughed. "Now are we gonna do this Ned Banks? Or are we taking things slow?"

He burst into laughter with her, but as the moment passed their lips met again. His hands explored, teasing her again, making her moan and pull him close. He waited for her to nod before he reached down and lined his cock up against her. He went as slowly as he could, and she was trembling, just a little, and his smile was shaky too, which helped.

Katie closed her eyes and he stopped moving, but she shook her head and pressed her hand to the curve of his hip to urge him on. "Just like that," she breathed, and then despite a bit of resistance, he was there and his arms shook with the weight of it all.

Ned tried not to relish it too much, she could tell, but he groaned all the same and his jaw clenched. He held her sweetly in his arms and didn't move, kissing her neck as he asked her, "Are you okay?"

"I wanted it to be you," she said as their lips met again once more and it was as though nothing else in the world existed, just her around him, her hands roaming his back, her lips mouthing at his shoulder.

Ned had been with other girls, but no one had made him feel like this before. His eyes caught hers, her pupils impossibly wide and dark, and then he began to move.

They began to rock, their bodies meeting in a rhythm that was both familiar and viscerally exciting. She wrapped her arms around his neck holding him to her chest, scratching her nails against the nape of his neck.

He could hear her heart thundering under his ear, echoing that of his own. A fine film of sweat engulfed them both as their pace quickened, their cries breaking the night's silence.

She felt the beginnings of his release and felt her own build uncontrollably. She stilled him once more, pulling back to cup his face, stroking his damp curls back from his forehead. To see the look of unutterable tenderness reflected in his eyes, she knew it matched her own.

Katie kissed him lightly and rolled her hips, bringing him deeper, this time shattering them both completely. She felt him spill on her stomach and logically, she knew why but had wished otherwise at the moment even with the possible consequence.

Later, as they lay in each other's arms, his head resting in the curve of her shoulder and her fingernails running the length of his back, the other wrapped around his forearm that lay just across her hips. Their breathing finally had become deep and steady once more.

She thought he might've fallen asleep until his voice suddenly drifted up towards her ears. "Does it ever stop?" he asked; a slight catch in his voice. "The wanting you?" he eased his hand between her legs. "It started the moment I laid my eyes on you, princess."

"God," she replied, shifting her leg to accommodate his questing fingers. "I hope not."

* * *

When Ned woke up the next morning Katie and Toby were going at it again.

Not _going at it_ , going at it- at least, Ned knew that from how things had heated up between him and Katie last night and gone to the next level - but hushed conversations off to the side of the camp were growing loud and hostile.

While he dressed he listened to Toby try to rake Katie over the coals about sharing a tent with him. He was just some dirty criminal to that privileged dickwad who wanted to act differently yesterday when he'd taken Katie's decision to take her wristband off away.

He couldn't help but chuckle at it. Did Toby think that was an insult when everyone down here had committed a crime?

But if Ned had to listen to his name come out of the kid's mouth one more time, well he was simply going to lose it.

Who the hell was that kid to harass Katie about decisions she had made?

The answer, Toby was no one down here like he used to be on the Ark and now he regretted everything. He lost the only leverage he had in his relationship with Katie the moment he turned her in.

In fact, the only redeeming force behind the kid's entire fragile place in her life was turning himself in and getting sent down here too, until he'd helped pin her down when Murphy forced her wristband off.

Anything she might've felt that was good for him was gone now. He knew that better than anyone.

Ned caught Katie's gaze as he walked past the campfire and headed toward where some food had been set up. Instead of nodding to her and continuing on with his mission, he held her gaze.

It wasn't teary or distressed (Katie was much too tough for that in front of those she didn't want to see her like), but it was beseeching and annoyed and when she flinched at something Toby had just said, well, Ned had enough.

He diverted his course and walked toward her and her irritating former boyfriend. "Princess," he greeted with a nod, and then with a not so subtle once over, "Toby."

"Ned," Toby responded tightly, his expression hardened, but the hand that had been gripping her forearm loosened enough for her to pull away.

Katie put a step of distance between them and if either of the boys noticed that she stepped closer to him in the process, no one said anything.

"Hmm." Ned responded in kind, before turning his attention to Katie, "I was just coming to find you."

She raised a single eyebrow- a look that clearly called bullshit on his lie. She knew she had left him asleep and he'd had no intention of waking up any time soon.

He tilted his head and pasted a complacent grin on his face. _Give me a break here. I'm just trying to help you out._

Maybe she could read his mind because Katie blinked and then nodded slowly for Toby's benefit.

"Is it about Landon and Trina again? Did they ever find them?" She asked.

"What else would it be about?" Ned made a show of rolling his eyes as he moved out of her way for her to walk ahead of him. "Come on. Ladies first, Princess."

She laughed at his antics and leaned in to kiss his cheek, enjoying the little look of anger flash across her ex-boyfriend's face. "Only if you find me a treasure on one of your night adventures since you won't let me go with you."

Ned sighed at that. She always wanted to go with him, despite the dangers, and he knew that well-enough for himself but didn't want to see her put herself in the same kind danger.

"I will try my best," he said, ushering her slightly away from Toby then.

"We'll talk later, Katie. This isn't over." Toby gritted out through a locked jaw, looking distastefully between the two of them.

"It is if I say it is, Toby. I don't want to talk to you," she muttered and sighed, but it was Ned's responding glare that was enough to send Toby awkwardly shuffling away from them. "I didn't ask for your help."

"Not in so many words," he nodded and looked down at her face.

Katie's eyes were trained on him, moving around his face, searching for… something.

Whether or not she found it, Ned didn't know, but he did notice that her eyes were like the sky on a cloudless day; still, deep and much too vast for him to begin to comprehend.

When she looked back at him she nodded and her eyes softened. She didn't say thank you. But she didn't need to; it was all in her eyes.

"So what is it you needed to talk to me about?" She asked, glancing over at him with a smirk on her face.

He was about to kiss her when Jasper's piercing groaned echoed through the air, and he sighed. "That kid is killing me. I feel for him… I do, but he's a lost cause."

Katie's head tilted impatiently to the side and she pursed her lips at him. Distantly he remembered the first day after landing when she hadn't wanted to open the door right away.

Ned almost turned around right then and there (like when he had gone ahead and pressed the switch) to avoid whatever repercussions of what he just said were going to be.

"Is it killing you, Ned?" She replied sarcastically. "I don't believe you were the one who got a spear thrown into your chest."

He sighed. "That's not what I meant and you know it," he said, running her hands through her hair. "Are you mad at me for speaking the truth?"

She shook her head. "I'm not mad at you for speaking your truth, Ned. If you want to think Jasper is a lost cause then go ahead. You're wrong."

He nodded, but he doesn't stop staring at her like he's trying to discover himself in her eyes. "I hope that I am." The moment stretched on for too long and their eyes were still locked as she pulled something out of her back pocket. "What's that?'

She showed him the circle of red weeds, but they had mostly dried out. "Whatever this stuff is it has to have antibiotic properties. That's what the Grounders put on Jasper's wound."

He nodded, studying it. It wasn't anything he recognized from the Earth-skills labs he'd taken before he got arrested. "I don't remember seeing it in anything on the Ark, but I don't have the greatest memory."

Toby must've walked up while he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings because his voice spoke up and spooked them both, "Let me take a look," the boy said as he turned around to glare at him. "And before either of you refuse my help, I aced botany in Earth-skills. I tutored Katie for once in that subject, remember?"

Ned looked over at Katie, who sighed and nodded. "I remember," she gave him a glance that told him it was okay to have Toby look at the plant and he handed it over. "The Grounders used it as some sort of poultice, but I am thinking maybe tea will be more effective if we can figure out what it is."

Toby nodded, humming. "Good thing I know what it is." He held the plant out. "Seaweed. Look no root structure."

She took the plant back from Toby and looked back at him. "Well, there must be a water source nearby then where they got it from."

Toby butted in again and she huffed in annoyance loudly as she glared at him. "It would have a slow current, and look more red than green considering the coloring of the plant."

He smiled and winked at her, knowing that he'd seen some of that grow alongside the waterfall pit they had seen a few miles away from camp. "I know just the place," he suggested to her with a glance.

She nodded, her eyes dancing with light like they had been when he'd kissed her there. "All right. Let's go." She looped her arm in his and began to pull him away from camp, but Toby yelled after them and she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Hey!" Toby shouted, running after them. "I know you hate me, but I know what this stuff looks like. Do you?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jim and Melinda are going through a lot now that Katie's wristband is dead, but maybe Mackenzie can help? Meanwhile, Rick is scheming and both Jim and Mel have to get to the bottom of it before it's too late and innocent lives are lost. One the ground, Katie and Ned grow closer despite Toby lurking around ;) Enjoy xx Mariah

**Jim — 42  
** **Melinda — 42  
** **Andrea — 42  
** **Rick — 40  
** **Eli — 32  
** **LeTrai— 30  
** **Landon — 18  
** **Adam — 18  
** **Katie — 17  
** **Ned — 17  
** **Toby — 17  
** **Jasper — 17  
** **Murphy — 16  
** **Hannah — 15  
** **Mackenzie — 15**

* * *

Melinda was using an antibiotic wipe to clean Jim's surgery dressings for the second time that day and he could tell there was more to it than just wanting to spend time with him. And as much as he enjoyed her company, he knew she could be doing better things with her time and having a medical student do this.

However, she was one of the best doctors on the Ark, and he knew she wasn't about to leave the man she loved most in the hands of an intern.

When he reached for the beer that was half-drank and sitting on the table beside him, he noticed the glance over she gave him. It ached a little to move like that, but it was with it for the cool liquid that he took a drink of. "So, out with it," he said with a hand gesture to her. "You could have an intern changing my bandages all the same and I would heal fine. What's on your mind, my lovely wife?"

She sighed and raised her gaze to him. "I don't think you should be drinking," she muttered.

He shook his head with a slight chuckle. "Not that, Melinda," he replied. "What's bothering you?"

Instead of laughing with him her face stayed flat. She meant business then and he took another drink just to be safe. "Commander Rick is planning a secret council meeting to vote on starting the process to reduce the population on the Ark with no further advancements on the Ground Project," Melinda told him seriously. "I need to know where you stand. I see why he wanted to have me floated so quickly now. It would have been easier to kill innocent people from the lesser stations in his mind."

He shook his head. "You know I don't have a vote unless there is a tie, Melinda. Even then, I will still abstain," he said with a sigh. "I always have."

She sighed and her eyes fell closed at that. He knew how she felt about him abstaining, but it was his choice and he'd never chosen to vote during a tie before and he wasn't going to change that now.

Instead, she still tried to reason with him. "The council listens to what you have to say, Jim."

He took the advantage to change the subject and smirked. "You don't," he teased. "At least not all the time."

Melinda smiled in return. "I do when you agree with me," she countered.

"This isn't as simple as everyone thinks it is, honey." He groaned, taking another drink of his beer. "The co2 scrubbers are already failing and have been for some time. The symptoms of oxygen deprivation are everywhere, and worst of all in the children. They'll die first."

"You don't have to tell me that," she muttered.

"Obviously I do, Melinda." He rose his voice a little now as he thought of the situation they were in. "Unless we act to reduce the population now everyone on the Ark will be dead in four months!"

"We have acted, Jim," she replied, practically slapping the bandage back over his stomach and causing him to wince. She didn't apologize and instead stood, frustratedly groaning. "We put a hundred kids on the ground. We need to give them time. It's only been maybe five days since they landed on the ground? I thought we were giving them a month?"

"There are only sixty-five confirmed kids on the ground right now, Melinda." He reminded her. Jim still didn't know if he believed the information the bracelets were telling them at this point, but he had nothing to go on besides a garbled message from his daughter and a gut feeling. "Thirty-five of them, including our daughter, might be dead. We don't know for sure."

"I don't think so," she said, shaking her head. "I told you this, Jim."

He sighed, running his hands through his hair. "But you have no proof! If we are going to stop the vote Rick calls we will need rock-solid proof and I'm sorry." He glanced up at her with a sad smile. "We just don't have that, Melinda."

Jim stood up as slowly as could, taking his movement easy as he walked over and wrapped his arms around his wife. She fought him at first, trying to break free because she was frustrated and upset with him, but when he stayed strong despite everything she gave in and began to quietly break down in his arms.

He hadn't known she was crying until the wetness on his arm was apparent and he turned her in his arms, pressing a kiss to her cheeks and wiping her tears. "I know you have to have hope for Katie, and I do too. I love her… and I can't imagine a world without her either." He tried to be serious, but it threatened to break and his voice cracked. "But I am Chancellor of the Ark, and hope just isn't enough for everyone else. Not when the end of the human race is at stake."

Melinda glanced back at him and for a moment she leaned into his hands, but then she moved them back to his sides, "Hope is everything, Jim, and the chancellor I voted for and the man I married knew that." She whispered.

"Melinda, that's not fair." He began but did have a chance to reply before there was a knock on the door.

"We have a visitor?" She was as confused as he was until he remembered Rick was supposed to be stopping by.

The sound of the door unlocking was what filled the silence between them as the person outside was granted access. They silently separated and he tried to grab hold of her hand, but she was still too upset with him and pulled it away.

Commander Rick appeared. "You wanted to see me, Chancellor?" The commander said.

His wife glanced at him, coldly, and only for a moment. "We can talk later." She said and as he went to object, but she shot him another glare and was already walking toward the door. "You have a visitor and I'm done here. I need to go check on things in the command center."

Even with the usual slow sound of the automatic seal of the door behind her, it felt like a slam and he knew better than to think she would come back in just an hour or two to be ready to talk with him again.

Jim occupied himself with getting another beer, and he grabbed Rick on too. "You want a beer?" He asked anyway on his way to the fridge.

"Sure. What was that all about?" The commander asked.

He twisted the tops off both of them and gave him the glass bottle once he turned around and saw Rick had followed him into his kitchen.

Jim wasn't going to be friendly with this guy. He had almost killed his wife, and before then, he was just some ex-boyfriend still lingering about with unforgiven jealousy over Melinda.

"None of your business," he muttered and took a sip of his beer. "Stop studying me, Rick. Who shot me? That's why you're here. We are not friends after what you did."

The commander nodded and pulled out his tablet, flipping through a series of screens until he pulled up a mugshot and profile. "Sam Lucas," Rick told him.

"Who is he?" He asked.

"A nobody," Rick said, and he knew now for more than one reason why no one liked this guy. "He was a carpenter from station seven. His motives are clear, his son Adam was on the dropship. We have him in custody and will solve this. We are still investigating who helped him get the gun."

He sighed, taking a sip of beer. "Who most benefits from my death?"

Rick chuckled and poured out the beer in the sink without having drunk any of it. "Forget the hospitality, Jim, if you have something to say to me then just say it."

"If I would have died you would have become Chancellor until the Ark could come together for an election," he explained and sighed, setting his beer down as he moved to get closer to the man who had almost killed his wife. "Plus the moment I was attacked and you had the least bit of power you used it to try and execute my wife."

Rick stood toe to toe with him, shorter, but not backing down or cowering. "I followed the law," the commander said like he always did. "I did my job. Have you?"

"I always have, but I also know the cost of my job and what it means." He couldn't help himself from laughing to refrain from doing anything else. "You were the acting Chancellor for all of five minutes and couldn't figure out that the job requires knowing when to strictly follow the law and when not to. You have proved that time and time again, Commander Rick. I think it's time for you to go."

The commander nodded and smirked. "I understand where we stand, Chancellor, and I want to clear the record. I had nothing to do with the attempt on your life, but I am not surprised that it happened." Rick tipped his head slightly to him with the same smile on his face. "You are too weak to do what now has to be done and I'm not the only one who knows it."

* * *

There were times when Katie wanted to forget all of the horrors, when she just wanted to bask in the glory of Earth, in the reflection of the sunlight through the trees, in the wind ruffling her hair, in the smell of the air, bright and fresh and so very alive, but she stopped herself. There was far too much to do. She doesn't have time to indulge herself when people are sick or hungry or dying.

For God's sake the only reason she was away from camp again was to find some sort of antibiotic to save Jasper or there would be a fourth grave for them to dig.

Ned, she knew, did not live by the same principle.

"Come on, Princess," he called to her, "Five minutes isn't going to kill anyone."

"It might," she replied, but she let her pack fall to the ground and toed off her shoes and stepped into the river.

Since Toby had been the one to identify the seaweed, when they reached the waterfall they left finding it to him. She guessed she could indulge a little.

"Ah, come on," he pouted, running water through his hair, causing it to curl across his forehead.

She pretended she didn't notice the way the drops run down his neck, the way his shirt clung to the planes of his chest, but she could tell from his roguish smile that he saw her looking.

"Live a little, Princess." He cheered, throwing his arms out. "I don't kiss and tell, you know that."

Toby huffed from behind them, killing the moment, but not enough for her to care. She stepped towards Ned, and further into the water. He smiled, but there's something predatory in his eyes.

Katie recognized his intention right before he sent an arc of water curving towards her, the cold immediately seeping through her shirt, plastering it to her skin.

"Ned!" she spluttered and splashed him back.

Water dripped from his face, but his eyes were triumphant and he moved toward her until he'd invaded her personal space.

"What are you doing?" She asked and her voice came out shakier than she wanted it to.

"Don't start something you can't finish," he warned her, pulling her into his arms.

He smelled like the forest, fresh and earthy and bright. She could feel goosebumps breaking out on her skin, the hair on her arms standing on end, almost like all of her was straining towards him. It's from the water, she told herself, but she'd never been very good at lying.

Katie could still remember everything they had done last night and as she stared into Ned's eyes, she knew he did too. She wondered if it mattered the same to him as it had to her, and as she was about to lean in kiss him, he stopped her.

"Are you sure, with him right there?" He asked, just to be sure, both of their eyes flicking over to her ex-boyfriend that was just a few feet away from them.

But before she could answer there was a loud horn sounding in the air. It sounded close by, possibly made from a grounder because it was something they had never heard before.

Ned and Katie both rushed out of the water as Toby finished collecting as much seaweed as he could and put it in the pack she had brought with.

"What do you think? Grounders?" She asked pulling off her shirt to reveal a tank top, ringing out the water from her shirt.

"Maybe," he slightly agreed, but his eyes were still fixed on her as she pulled her pants off to ring them out. His eyes were glued to the droplets of water that rolled down the sides of her legs before she pulled them back on. "Could be a war cry."

"Or it could be a warning," Toby said, pointing in the opposite direction. "Look!"

They all turned to where Toby was pointing to see a large yellow cloud headed in their direction. It was creeping closer and small bits of electric current running through it. That wasn't natural, but then again a lot of things a hundred kids from the Ark had seen weren't all-natural.

Then again seeing all the birds in the area flying the other way as fast as they could was another sign for them to run.

"We need to run. That doesn't look natural or safe," she said running over to grab her pack off the ground after pulling her shoes back on.

Both boys quickly followed behind her, but after a time Ned took hold of her hand. He didn't care about Toby, not for one god damn second and especially not now, but Katie was the only person he cared about down here.

He tugged her close and led her through the forest. "I know a place we can go." He said for both of them to hear. "We aren't going to make it back to camp in this."

* * *

Andrea was pacing back and forth the tiny Chancellor's office in the command center of the Ark. "Melinda, we have to stop. The council vote is in forty-five minutes."

Melinda sat at the desk, looking at different spreadsheets and files of information in front of her. "Then we have forty-five minutes." She said, looking up at her friend. "Anything from engineering?"

Andrea shook her head, grabbing a file of a nearby surface. "Nothing good. According to Dr. James even if we were able to send a signal down to the few wristbands still active, they weren't designed that way and the kids might not hear it."

She nodded. "There's gotta be something we've missed, Andrea. Something we haven't thought of?"

"I'm not sure—" Andrea began.

There was a clatter of metal against the far wall, followed by another. They both groaned.

"Oh, great." Melinda stood up from the chair. "What's falling apart now?" She walked right over to the nearest air duct hatch where the sound came from.

It had been one of Katie's favorite places to run off and hide when she was a little girl, and even as she had grown older when she just wanted to get away with a good book. Even if usually it was to avoid being punished.

It pinched her heart every time she thought about her daughter, but as she pulled open the hatch door she noticed a young girl trying to hurry up the ladder. The blonde scurried up quickly, but Melinda was not having it.

"Hey," she said and grabbed the teenager's ankle. "Hey, get down here!" Once the girl stood in front of her, she remembered who she was and pulled the maybe fifteen-year-old girl from the duct shaft. "Care to explain yourself?"

"No," Mackenzie muttered and followed where Melinda led her.

"Apparently you have a thing for air ducts," she said, eyes trained on her.

Andrea sighed and grabbed the phone off the wall, "I'll call security," her friend said.

"They're not dying, you know," Mackenzie told her, glancing between both women now.

She waved Andrea off and told her not to call anyone, but to shut the door instead with a glance. They had been best friends since they were children and knew how to have a silent conversation by now.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, walking up to the girl.

"Are you actually going to listen to anything I have to say?" Mackenzie asked, turning to look over the papers in front of her.

"I haven't called security, have I?" She countered, picking up the transcript with Katie and Jim's conversation for the tenth time that night.

The girl nodded and looked over the papers carefully, then glanced up through the glass window to see the two dozen or so screens still lit up with transmitting signals from bracelets. Melinda watched the girl drink in all of this information like it was water.

Then she turned toward Melinda again. "All of that is being sent from the ground?" Mackenzie asked, then seeing the piece of paper in her hands and taking it. "What's this?"

She gulped. "A radio transmission," she explained. "Between my husband and our daughter… on the ground."

Mackenzie gave it back then, "I'm sorry. I know how it feels to have someone down there."

"Ned Banks, right?" Melinda asked, taking the paper. "I looked into his file after you came up to my husband and me that day."

"And? How is my brother?" Mackenzie asked.

"His bracelet is still active. One of the last few," she told her.

Mackenzie nodded and looked at one of the mock examples of one on her desk. "They are probably taking them off," the girl said. "One thing I know about my brother is he may be reckless, but he would never take that bracelet off if it was telling the Ark and his family he was alive."

Melinda tried to let that sink in, but the idea of Katie taking off her bracelet didn't seem plausible to her.

Andrea asked before her, "What about Katie then?"

"If they know she's the Chancellor's daughter what makes you think they wouldn't force it off of her?" Mackenzie asked.

Melinda read over the transcript again, and suddenly Katie's garbled words made sense.

**_Dad, listen...*static*...don't listen to...*static*...information...*static*...taking off...*static*...they are...*static*...because they don't...*static*... follow...*static*...down_ **

"She's right," she said. "Katie tried to warn us about it. Look this over again, Andrea." She walked over to her friend. "Less than twenty-four hours later her bracelet went dead after that message. It could have been some sort of revenge." Melinda walked back over to the desk and glanced at Mackenzie. "We need to get all of the information from the bracelets that have gone dead to figure out from vital signs who was forced and who wasn't, and go from there."

"We have to do it fast," Andrea reminded her. "The council vote is in thirty minutes."

* * *

The fog storm looked to slowly be winding down outside as Ned glanced outside the dusty window of the tipped over and rusted-down old RV he had discovered on one of his many night adventures in the forest.

It had to be from before the bombs went off by the looks of everything inside.

Ned, Katie, and Toby were waiting for the fog to clear and what must be lightning and strong winds to stop so that they can go back to camp.

The supply they'd grabbed would last for enough time and after seeing this fog they didn't want to wander too far from camp for a bit. But they couldn't go out until everything cleared or lightened up at the very least, so he was periodically checking for that.

Toby was leaning against the far wall the best he could, and Katie was turned away from him the best she could from where she was sitting across the room on the floor. Or so Ned had thought.

"Hey, how's it looking out there?" Katie asked.

He turned to find her beside him, glancing out when he gave her the chance to peek. "It's still out there," he said.

She sighed, "We should just try to make a run for it. Jasper is drying." Her eyes turned back to the window.

He pulled her back some to look her in the eye again. "I don't think dying in the acid fog is going to help Jasper any." He said, picking up her hand. "How's your arm feeling?"

She shrugged. "It kind of itches today," she muttered, glancing at the bandages. "Hopefully it will heal properly."

Toby shifted awkwardly toward them to try to defend himself then. "Katie, I didn't know that's what—" The boy groaned.

He could feel the tension radiating off her as she grimaced. "Save it, Toby," she said, shaking her head as she turned toward him. "Every time you apologize you go and do something worse. What's up your sleeve this time? You going to actually try to kill me now?"

Katie's voice was a little hoarse, and he knew how much all of this had been affecting her lately. It broke his heart. He wished he could do something to ease all of the weight off of her shoulders.

He took the chance to sneak off and climbed his way over to the kitchen, breaking open one of the cabinets he had found before. He pulled out a taller bottle that was covered in dust, but when he wiped it away there was a clear liquid inside.

When he turned to see both Katie and Toby staring at him, he smiled and climbed down. "What? I think it's vodka. Or maybe rum." He told them as he unscrewed the cap.

She reached her hand out as he tipped the bottle back. "Well, careful, Ned. It could be—"

"It's rum," he said, grimacing at the taste. "Not my favorite, but still, better than anything they called alcohol back on station eight." He held the bottle out to her like he had before and she glanced at it, then back up at him. "Wanna try?"

"Alcohol is toxic," Toby said matter-of-factly as if that meant anything.

He took another drink just to see Toby say something under his breath. "Look where we are," he said afterward, arms moving all around him. "This is Earth, doctor boy. Everything is toxic." He held it back toward Katie with a grin. "Plus, it's a time-honored tradition. Right, Katie?"

Toby pushed it away before she could take it. "We'll pass," the boy tried to say for both of them.

Katie pushed Toby out of her personal space before he could say anything else. "You don't speak for me," she took the bottle and took a whiff, nearly gagging then. "Let's hope this tastes better than that other stuff you found." She took a large swig just to see Toby's jaw drop as she handed it back to Ned. "I would never stand in the way of tradition."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Tensions rise on the Ark as the council vote moves forward and on the ground as the acid fog surges outside. Melinda takes action to find proof Katie is alive on the ground. Enjoy xx Mariah**

**Jim — 42**   
**Melinda — 42**   
**Andrea — 42**   
**Rick — 40**   
**Eli — 32**   
**LeTrai— 30**   
**Landon — 18**   
**Adam — 18**   
**Katie — 17**   
**Ned — 17**   
**Toby — 17**   
**Jasper — 17**   
**Murphy — 16**   
**Hannah — 15**   
**Mackenzie — 15**

* * *

The council meeting started off smoothly like it always does, but when it came time for everyone to listen to the tape of the recorded transmitted conversation between Katie and Jim, she had frozen.

Melinda hadn't known there was an audio file. She had only thought there was the written out version, and she locked gazes with her husband.

She blinked away tears as she heard her daughter's voice and had to control herself from weeping when it was gone. Then it was her time to speak and present the information proving life was sustainable on Earth she felt nervous.

She was the only thing standing between the vote on the lives of two-hundred some souls that would be chosen at random to be sacrificed for more air supply to buy them more time.

Melinda then focused on the papers in front of her and calmed herself before speaking.

"Data indicates that the violent offenders permitted to the hundred prisoners being sent to the ground are eight times more likely to have terminated signals." She explained. "We know that radiation isn't the cause from the audio recording we all just heard and only thirty percent of those who have been terminated since the second day showed signs of stressors to the body or vital spikes. We believe this means that some of the kids are taking them off by choice."

"So how do you explain your daughter's disrupted transmission?" Rick asked, interrupting her before she could continue on. He had a smug smirk on his face as he leaned back into his chair. "That was her on the tape calling from the radio on the capsule you illegally sent down, correct?"

She hated Rick. She wanted to wipe that smug look off his face.

He only wished to undermine her whenever he was given the chance.

"Yes, that was Katie's voice you heard." She said, shuffling the papers in her hands to find the right one that she was looking for. "And her vital signs were one of those among the signals that showed signs of stressors to the body. Another theory I have is that we sent criminals to the ground, some dangerous, some not, and I think the dangerous ones don't want us to follow so they are making us think they are all dead or dying."

She looked around the table to see the six people around her.

Some showed their reactions and some didn't. She still didn't know where stood with the majority.

Rick spoke up again, "I think that's a stretch, Melinda."

She rolled her eyes. "Either way, Commander, these kids need more time." She sighed and looked to Jim for help, but he diverted his gaze to look around the table and was left on her own. "We need more time to figure out another way of communication."

"We don't have more time! Engineering needs six months to fix life-support and we'll be out of oxygen in four, Melinda." Rick scoffed, standing up in his seat. "Nobody wants to do this, but the inescapable fact is that every day we delay ten more people will need to be sacrificed. So today it's two hundred and eighteen." The man paced around the round table, his arms moving about as he talked. "Tomorrow it is two hundred and twenty-eight, and the day after that it's two hundred and thirty-eight."

As Rick came back to his empty seat he slammed his hand onto the surface. "We're the ones who need more time!" He shouted, startling almost everyone at the table. "I move that we vote now."

"I second that," Eli James agreed.

"Very well," another member spoke up, Kate Payne, with her javelin in the air. "The matter requires a four-person vote majority to pass. Does everyone agree to vote?"

Melinda rolled her eyes. Good grief.

"Aye," everyone but Jim said.

Kate slammed the javelin down once before speaking again "A vote in favor is to vote to cull two hundred and eighteen citizens of the Ark from the supply grid by random to extend life support for those who remain by three months." The woman said, glancing around the table. "All those in favor?"

"Aye," Rick said.

Eli spoke next, "Aye."

"Aye," Kate said, casting her own vote and when no one else spoke up, she sighed. "All those not in favor?"

"Aye," Melinda said confidently.

"Aye," Andrea said.

"Aye," Samantha Blair said, glancing over at her with a nod of agreeance.

"That's three votes to three. The chancellor will break the tie." Kate slammed her javelin down again.

Jim sighed as he slowly stood from his chair and walked over to glance out the nearby window. There was a pregnant pause as he glanced out at Earth.

"We didn't ask for this," he said. "Ours was to a transitional generation, remember? So that in two generations from now mankind could go home, but everything has changed." Jim turned back toward everyone and walked up to the head of the table. "And we will either be the generation that sees the human race return to Earth or disappear altogether."

"How does the Chancellor vote?" Kate asked him.

There was another pregnant pause as Jim walked over to Melinda and placed his hand on her shoulder, sighing. "Our daughter is already down there. I sent her, and the truth is I don't know if she is alive or dead, but I still have hope." He said and she turned to glance up at him.

"How does the Chancellor vote?" Kate repeated herself.

"I don't," Jim replied, sharing a look with his wife before looking up at the woman who was speaking to him.

"Sir, if you abstain, the vote ends in a tie to be automatically taken up again in ten days," Kate said, sighing, sharing a look with her husband who sat beside her.

"That's ten more dead for every day," Rick repeated from before. "That's three hundred and eighteen people, Jim."

Kate waved her husband quiet beside her. "I ask again, how does the Chancellor vote?"

"The chancellor abstains from voting today," he replied and Rick stormed out as Melinda stood up to face her husband. "You have ten days to find proof, Mel, or I will have to move forward."

* * *

Hours had passed but the fog had not cleared. It still raged on outside and left Ned, Katie, and Toby trapped in the old rusted-up RV.

"We need to get going," Katie sighed. "Jasper—"

"Is in good hands," he said as he made his way back over to sit next to her. "Hannah won't let anyone lay hand on her brother."

"While we're on that subject why does everyone seem to be against me keeping Jasper alive?" She asked, glancing between him and Toby for answers. "Like I'm such a downer for it. I can be fun," she turned her gaze back to only Ned and smirked. "You think I'm fun, right?"

"Oh, yeah," he said, grabbing the half-drank bottle of rum near him to take a drink. "Among other things…"

She laughed and leaned her head on his shoulder. Her smile was wide despite when she rolled her eyes at his subtle antics.

Toby, however, ruined their moment and her smile was gone. "You're fun, Katie. You remember that time we on Unity Day when—"

She turned her head to where he was across the room. "Remember when you set me up and pinned me down while Murphy took off my wristband? Or how about when you betrayed me and almost got me executed?"

There was a pregnant awkward silence that filled the RV as Katie grabbed the liquor bottle and took another drink.

"Yeah, I remember," she sighed and took another before Ned took it back.

"That's enough for you," he said and took a drink for himself. "Where were we? Fun. Oh, well, I guess since we're on the topic, and just so you know I wasn't going to bring any of this up for Katie's sake, but what were you thinking?"

"What I did was for the greater good," Toby justified himself, shaking his head. "And you don't get to question me about this involving my ex-girlfriend. She can, but you are not her keeper."

Ned was getting more pissed off by the minute and if hadn't been for Katie looping her arm around his, he might've done something stupid.

Something he would've regretting tomorrow.

Her eyes went wide to plead with him, her eyebrows bunched together with worry and frustration, and she squeezed his bicep. He knew what that meant.

_You promised me you wouldn't go overboard, Ned._

He gave her a look back that meant, _I won't. You have to trust me._ Then he turned to face Toby and sighed as he stood up to walk over to him.

He chose his words carefully. "I care about Katie so this is my problem, man, and my family is still back on the Ark too," Ned said. "You know that the air supply is dying. Are you deciding that everyone up there gets to die?"

Toby ignored him, all the same, he would have if he was sitting over beside Katie. "What do you want me to say? Huh? That she's the love of my life?"

Katie scoffed. "Please. I pity you, Toby."

"Do you really think you have a chance after everything anymore?" He asked out of his own curiosity.

"More than you ever will," Toby said, standing up to be chest-to-chest and stood taller than Ned by a few inches.

"Are you so sure about that?" He smirked all the same.

"Enough!" Katie screamed and pushed them apart suddenly. "I am not being the subject or a part of your pissing match." Then she turned on her previous boyfriend. "I want the truth from you, Toby. I want an explanation if I have to be stuck in here with you."

"I don't know what you want me to say, Katie." Toby shrugged. "I told you why I turned you in on the Ark. I couldn't live with the lie and knowing someone died because of it."

"And my wristband?" She asked.

"That was an easy way to take my anger out on you for the past few days. Do you think it's been easy on me seeing you with…" Toby glanced over at Ned in disgust. "With him?"

Katie rolled her eyes. "Enough of your pity party, Tob. I want a real answer." She said, flatly, trying to keep her calm. "You've never been the jealous type."

"What do you want to hear Katie that I believe it was your dad's pipe dream to build a new society down here?" Toby yelled, finally having enough of it all. "He was only trying to save your skin and now that the Ark thins you're dead they will find out a solution to fix the air supply machines like they always do." The boy sighed, "Melinda and Jim will be fine with time. You have to know that."

She'd had enough then and even Ned couldn't hold her back, though he'd tried for a moment before she pulled free and glared at him to back off.

"FINE?" Katie screamed in his face. "You think my parents will be fine thinking their only child is dead?"

"Calm down," Toby muttered.

"Don't tell me to calm down," she said and laughed uncontrollably, most likely out of shock or sarcasm, Katie wasn't sure why, but then it stopped and she took in a deep breath and sighed. "You know, Tob, I thought that even after everything that we were at least looking out for each other down here, but you threw away any chance of me ever forgiving you. I may not have been able to put past out issues from the Ark, but we are on the ground now, and I understand what that means. I knew I had to be civil and put things aside for the greater good, but right now?" She stepped a close as she could, pressing her finger into his chest. "Do yourself a favor and walk out into that fog for me, okay?"

Ned sighed and eased her away from Toby, his hands on her shoulders after putting the bottle of rum on the floor nearby.

"Katie, I don't think this good for either of you. How about you take it easy?" He pulled out the playing cards that he had put in his jacket from the capsule. "Maybe even play some cards?"

"I have no idea how to do that, and no, I don't." She glared at him, both of them, and as she walked away was a little wobbly on her feet. "I'm going to go lie down and hopefully get some rest since there is nothing better to do. Both of you just leave me alone."

After that, Toby grabbed the booze off the floor and drank the rest of it.

* * *

Melinda noticed Rick was following her daily easy, but after two days it started to annoy her. She had frequently begun checking on Mackenzie to give her updates on her brother and to pick the girl's brain.

For only fourteen, Mackenzie was as smart as a whip and had already tested out of school. She had yet to be assigned to her profession yet, but she was looking to become the first apprenticing mechanic under seventeen in nearly fifty years.

Mackenzie would, however, be the first female to ever achieve that status on the Ark ever.

On the third day, Melinda passed Rick in the station eight hallway. She hoped they could continue on with their days, but that was too good to be true.

"Councilor," Rick said to her in passing, eyes twitching to the guard Jim had assigned to watch over her since his shooting.

Josh hadn't left Jim's side when she was in lock-up and he was asleep, now that Jim was awake, he hadn't left hers.

"Commander Payne," she replied, and if he hadn't taken the liberty to catch up to her she wouldn't have turned around to look at him. Josh was on the high defensive and made Rick back up, but she waved him off. "It's fine, Josh. He won't hurt me here."

The man slowly backed off to give them some privacy but stayed close enough.

"Are you headed to section twelve of station eight?" Rick asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

She sighed, "As a matter of fact, I am." Melinda's eyes shifted over toward Josh, who had called for backup just in case over his radio. "Does that matter to you, Commander?" She asked.

"You've been there nine times in the past three days, Melinda," Rick stated, shrugging. "Is there something I should be made aware of?"

Melinda knew she had to play dumb and wasn't about to reveal anything to him either, especially not so openly in one of the passing hallways.

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Are you tracking me, Payne?" She asked irritatedly.

"I'm tracking everyone, Melinda. It's my job," Rick answered. "Care if I join you then?"

She had to think of an excuse as she nodded. "Not at all," she replied and waved for him to follow. "But you're gonna have to be inoculated."

Melinda was one of the many physicians on the Ark and before Katie was born she had been a surgeon, but that schedule had become too demanding when Jim was elected chancellor some odd fifteen years ago.

She was originally born on station five, the gardening and medicinal station, but had moved when she married Jim to station three, which was education and he had been a History teacher before he was elected.

When Katie was a teen she'd eased back into being a working physician as it was hard to come across those with good skills that were as perfected as Melinda's. She liked to take odd jobs to her colleagues though and would check on those in need.

Most doctors from her station turned away those from so-called "dirt" stations. Eight was one of them that was looked down on often.

"Inoculated?" Rick asked. "Why all the fuss?"

"There was a girl who came down with strep last week, Commander. We take that very seriously and I'm following procedure." She explained simply. "She's fine now, but I am still checking up on the bacterial levels of the sector. Chancellor's orders."

Rick's face fell flat and he groaned, and Josh walked back up to them. "There any problem here, Melinda?"

"No problem," she said with a slight grin. "Commander Payne was just leaving unless he wants to risk exposure?"

"That's all right. I don't want to slow you down." Rick had that same smug smile he'd had on his face when he'd tried to float her. "Just keep me informed."

"Absolutely, Commander," she answered and once she turned back around she rolled her eyes and quickly left with Josh.

They made it to section twelve where Mackenzie was, although it wasn't nearly what she had told Rick at all. The fourteen-year-old was hard at work building a space pod for travel down to the ground. Big enough for three people: Mackenzie, Melinda, and Josh.

Melinda had tried to convince Jim to come with her, but he had shot that idea down immediately because he was the Chancellor and had an overwhelming responsibility to the people of the Ark. She knew that, and so did she.

They were all going to die if they didn't figure out if the ground was survivable, and nearly four hundred people would have to be killed if they couldn't figure out if the kids on the ground were alive.

And the only way to figure either of those things out was to send another person down. Melinda had driven the project and volunteered herself to go down to Jim privately. They had argued for two days about it until he finally came to the understanding of why she had to go.

Mackenzie was who she had building the ship in secret because they couldn't get it to pass in the council meetings. The girl wanted to go down to see her brother, Ned.

Finally, Jim had insisted on Josh accompanying for protection against any level of threat on the ground. Josh was also from farming station eleven which would help with food growth.

As Melinda watched as the edge of the younger girl's lips twisted up into a proud smirk as Mackenzie accomplished what she was doing. Honestly, she had no idea how the art of mechanics worked.

To her it was like a foreign language and it was interesting and intriguing. Though it was probably how some saw medicine from afar as well. She loved watching the way that Mackenzie's fingers danced along the wires and the way that she cursed under her breath when she did something wrong.

It was a different kind of intelligence then this young girl possessed, and she admired her. In a way she envied her. She envied Mackenzie's rebellious nature. She envied the way that she broke away from the rules and she did whatever she wanted.

That had always been something that she had suffered with. Melinda Gordon was a woman who always played by the rules.

Until now.

Her mind teased as she hastily realized that what she was doing went against all of the rules. She was working with someone who was a relative of a known criminal. Mackenzie was a child and she was having her build a pod to go down to Earth, against the orders of everyone else in the council.

If they got caught then both of them would be executed. Josh would too. But, she didn't care about that. She needed to get to her daughter, she needed to see her again, and she needed to know that she was still alive.

Katie was the last thing that she and Jim had.

"Are you just gonna sit there and watch me while I work?" Mackenzie wondered with a raise of her brow in the other woman's direction. "You're making me nervous."

"I'm sorry." Melinda looked away and smiled softly. "You are just sort of mesmerizing to me." She took a step toward her and attempted to explain the reasoning behind her staring. "I've really watched someone work on machines before. You put so much passion and effort into it. For whatever reason, in this society we look down on the mechanics, but it's actually very admirable. And it is an important job."

"Yeah, but most of them aren't criminals like me," Mackenzie pointed out.

"And my daughter." She stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "Who isn't a criminal here? The standards are harder to reach than the standards set for Heaven. If you act out in the slightest you are floated." She paused and her voice filled with sorrow as she added, "I almost was…"

"I'm sorry about that." Mackenzie knew that it had happened. People talked, word spread around. Silence filled the air between the two women and Mackenzie took the moment to look behind at the guard. "Is it safe to talk around him?"

"He's coming with us," she told her.

"When do we need to launch by?" Mackenzie asked, moving out of the pod and wiping the grease off her hands. "Because I need a pressure regulator."

"Like you 100% need it?" She asked.

"For sure," Josh pitched in. "If we don't want to crash land and die suffering."

"He makes a very good point," Mackenzie said glancing over at her. "Can you get it?"

"I'm sure my husband can," Melinda said, glancing back at Josh. "Just keep working, Mackenzie. I'll be right back. He will keep an eye on you." Then she hurried out of the room to go find Jim.


	11. Chapter 11

It was very early the next day when the three of them were able to finally leave because the fog had cleared. Katie was the one to wake both Ned and Toby up so they all could begin their journey back to camp. "Come on," she said, taking the lead with her pack on her back. "Jasper is waiting for us."

Ned lurked behind with Toby, despite not wanting to, but Katie hadn't been exactly warming to him since the night before. They hadn't even had a chance to talk about any of it alone yet. So he thought it would be better to spend his time finding out more information about their relationship, if possible, and poke more fun at the kid.

Once there was enough space between them and her, and he knew she wouldn't be able to hear him, he spoke. "Last night was pretty intense," Ned glanced over at Toby, who sighed when he opened his mouth. "You and Katie ever… you know?" He knew the answer to that question, but he wanted to see who Toby was as a person and get his so-called 'side of the story'.

The boy glared at him. "No, not like that, and even if we had, it's none of your business," Toby replied.

He chuckled. "Then make something clear to me, Toby, why did you do it? If there was nothing leading the guards to Katie then why would you rat her out? You seem like a pretty straightforward kind of guy and if you say Katie is the love of your life why'd you do it?"

"You don't know me," Toby sneered, shaking his head. "Don't presume to think you do because of the days we've spent together on the ground."

"You knew what the rules were on the Ark. You had to know she would get floated," Ned stopped them both from walking by blocking Toby's path as he talked to him now. "You knew her father would have to do that to her and you did it anyway?"

"I made a choice," Toby said, shoving him away from him slightly. "Why do you think I turned myself in too?"

He shrugged. "I think you have some sort of star-crossed lovers complex. It doesn't make you a good guy because you did that."

Toby shoved past him and Ned chuckled as he followed behind quickly, but after some time got bored of rustling Toby's feathers and ran to catch up with Katie. Now they could talk alone and by the look on her face, she was definitely still upset.

He made the first move to talk. "Trapped in a two-hundred-year-old RV by toxic fog." He said, starting the conversation by chuckling slightly as he nudged her side a little with his elbow. "Whew… last night was what's the word? Fun."

She laughed with him then and rolled her eyes. "It wasn't fun," she muttered. "It was irresponsible and I have a massive headache now. We should've left the second the fog cleared last night, but we fell asleep."

"Even if it did clear last night we would've never made it through these woods at night," he told her.

"Coming from the guy who explores them for fun?" She laughed, shaking her head.

"I know what I'm doing and can put my life in my hands, but I don't want you to go risking the same thing just to maybe help Jasper." He said as he stepped in front of her and just as Ned was going to speak again a scream echoed around them.

A girl's scream and it came again and again.

They quickly ran through the forest and came to a clearing to find where the screaming had led them. There was a girl, maybe thirteen, and standing over someone lying on the ground. It was Landon, and he was covered in red radiation rashes and boils all over his body.

Was that what the fog did if someone was caught in it?

"Son of a bitch," Ned muttered and stopped dead in his tracks. "Landon."

"Get the girl away from this," Katie told him, pointing to the girl. "Have Toby bring her back to camp."

She struggled with what laid before her. Landon had disappeared a day or so ago and most people thought he'd run off with Trina to hook-up, and he had, but when Trina had turned up and he hadn't they'd gotten worried.

They hadn't thought this would happen to him.

Katie had to take slow even breaths or she was going to vomit as she came to kneel by him. Even after everything, Landon didn't deserve this.

What made it all worse was that the boy was still trying to catch his breath and it looked painful.

"Landon, can you hear me?" She asked, placing her hand on the top of his chest where his shirt still covered.

Ned had come to kneel on the other side of him, and when she turned to see if the girl and Toby had gone she noticed they had, but must've been close enough to camp that a crowd had gathered around them to see what the commotion was about.

Landon asked for death with a wheeze. He wanted to die. He was in that much pain that he turned his head, baring his throat.

"Ned, please…" the pain in Landon's voice was thick. "Please… kill me."

Katie looked up at him. "Ned?" she whispered and reached her free hand out to his shoulder. "Don't be afraid."

Ned had pulled out his knife, but his hand shook and as he looked at her, he just shook his head. He couldn't do it.

She swallowed hard. "Okay," she said as she looked down at Landon and sniffled while she got herself situated. "I'm gonna help you, all right?" She just sat and stroked at Landon's hair.

It was taking everything in her to not break down in tears. Katie was trying to hold it together, but she wasn't sure how much longer she could do it.

Landon's head turned toward her and he breathed shallowly, wincing in pain. "Kill me, Katie," he begged again. "Kill me."

She hummed as she stroked the side of his head before she began to sing. The only song that came to mind and one her mother would sing to her and by herself all the time. "The lights will guide you home," she sang as she reached her hand out for the knife. "And ignite your bones," Ned looked between Katie and Landon with a slight wonder as he gave her the weapon. "And I... will try..." she was still singing when she pressed the knife into the side of Landon's neck and pulled it out. The movements were both firm and gentle. Ned looked at her as Landon bled out and she had to swallow around a lump in her throat. "To fix you…"

She cried and though she didn't even know Landon that well, to see someone in such pain... someone who had simply been unlucky… it was like years of pent up tears just rolled down her face. Her tears landed on the boy's forehead and she saw his eyes close.

That was when Ned took her hand from Landon's head and gave it a squeeze. She nodded and just hummed the rest of the song through her tears. It was hard, but she wanted to make sure Landon had a peaceful send-off.

The two of them just sort of sat there, waiting for Landon to pass. It wasn't long, but it felt like an eternity.

A shudder ran through Landon and that was it. He was gone, and she knew she had only taken his life because he'd begged her to. But she was a murderer all the same.

Was this how her father felt every time he had to press the release button the air-lock chamber?

* * *

Melinda left station eight in a bid to track Jim down when she realized that she wasn't entirely sure how she wanted to ask him. While he knew about her plans to go to the ground he may not want to find a machine part for her illegally.

She went back to their living quarters to wait and see if he would come for dinner, but when he didn't she realized she'd been staring idly at photos of herself, Jim and Katie for the last four hours and all that had achieved was a deeper sense of loss and the overwhelming need to scream at the tops of her lungs at the injustice of the world.

There were less than ten hours to go before she wanted to leave in the space pod for Earth, but she had to talk to Jim first. She had to find the pressure regulator, and she had to say goodbye to the man she loved for however long.

She left her living quarters in a hurry and hadn't seen Jim since earlier that morning when they'd silently shared a cup of coffee together in the Mess Hall.

That fact alone caused her to worry; he'd been a near-constant by her side for the last twelve hours besides when she went to check on Mackenzie's progress, and she found that she misses him.

His presence has been a reassurance in the chaos that has ensued since Katie's wristband cut out and she didn't know how well she would do without him on the ground if, in fact, their daughter was dead.

Melinda instinctively knew where he'd be and when she reached the door to Jim's office, she spotted a guard standing at attention just outside.

"Is the Chancellor inside?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

The guard, a young man whom she vaguely recognized, turned his gaze towards her and nodded. "Yes ma'am, but he asked not to be disturbed."

She returned the nod, knowing that Jim wanted, no, needed, to have his alone time. There hadn't been any time before now, and she knew he deserved to have this, to be able to process everything that's happened in the last three days.

Unfortunately, she knew she was about to tear him away from his opportunity to do just that. "It's okay," she waved the guard off. "I've got urgent business with him. I won't be too long."

The lie slipped easily off her tongue and the guard looked wary. He was clearly reluctant to stand in her way however being who she was. At least her reputation still stood for something.

The young man gestured to the door and entered a security code into the panel to allow her entrance. Melinda watched as the door shifted, revealing her husband inside.

He didn't turn when she stepped through the open doorway, but Melinda could see his back tense immediately. His shoulders were hunched and shook slightly as he breathed. She couldn't hear his sobs, but she sensed their echoes in the quiet of the room.

She hadn't seen him look so vulnerable in a long time.

"I said I didn't want to be bothered…" His voice was quiet, thick with emotion, and his shoulders remained tense. He still doesn't turn around.

"I know…" She whispered, just loud enough so that her voice carried to the man that stood staring out the window at the Earth.

Jim did turn then, his gaze immediately snapping to hers. His eyes were red and tired, and she saw the faint trace of tear marks running down his cheeks. She wondered how long he'd actually been here, keeping a near-silent vigil for their daughter.

He held Katie's picture in his hand. "Melinda…" He cried.

It's not the first time he'd ever said her name like that, with a disbelieving breath, as if she was the answer to his prayer. She reached his side and placed a tentative hand on his forearm, which was bare; his familiar jacket resting on the table in front of him.

"I know you have hope, but I—"

"You don't have to explain yourself, Jim," she assured him, giving his arm a squeeze.

He didn't reply, just nodded and took in a deep breath. "If she is gone I am happy I got to talk to her one last time," he admitted, voice wavering in the quiet of the room. "Do you think she could ever forgive me for having to send her down there?"

Melinda was sure she felt her heartbreak for him in that instant.

"Jim there was nothing to forgive you for. She knows why they are down there," she replied, shaking her head softly. "You were the best father she could ever ask for. You saved her life when you sent her down there… trust me on that."

He sighed and wiped his hands across his face in frustration before sweeping them into his hair.

"I can't believe that she might be gone," he muttered quietly, looking up at her with sorrowful eyes. "I remember the day she was born." He brought the picture frame up, one taken the day he was talking about. "She always wanted a little brother or sister and you know what I always told her?"

"You can't mess with perfection," she said, laughing and smiling when he joined her.

"She was perfect," he replied.

"Is," she corrected, hopefully.

"I hope so," he muttered quietly.

She can't argue with his assessment because there were no crystal clear facts that gave them proof Katie was alive, but in Melinda's heart, she knew it couldn't be true. She couldn't think of the words to say, couldn't think of anything to reassure him, so she merely reached out and lightly gripped his hand and she wrapped her fingers around his.

His focus shifted to their joined hands and she sensed the moment that some of the overwhelming tension left him. "I'm sorry I'm in such a state, honey," he finally whispered, glancing up from their hands to her face, his expression almost shy as he faced up to his own vulnerabilities.

She shook her head slightly in dismissal. "It's fine," she murmured, squeezing his hand gently and turning towards the window. The view was breathtaking even after seeing it for forty-two years. The blue and green hue of Earth was all that could be seen in the surrounding darkness from the Ark. "You should grieve for her; it's not a weakness, Jim."

His nod was infinitesimal, Melinda only caught the movement out of the corner of her eye. "Is there something you needed?" He asked.

"A pressure regulator," she said.

"What for?" He asked.

She gave him a punctual glance, and he knew what it was for. The space pod. "Regulating pressure," she said anyway.

He nodded. "I'll see what I can do," he sighed, sniffling. "Is that all?"

"Yeah, but I can stay if you want me to." She said, releasing his hand to wrap her arms around his waist and smile up at him.

"I would like that," he said, cupping her cheek. "We only have so much time left together."

* * *

It was dark by the time they got back to the camp and now the lack of sleep, the stress, emotional turmoil, and the exercise strain hit Katie all at once.

She caught herself on the edge of the wall when Ned came running up to her. Toby had separated from them as soon as he could and went directly into the dropship while a few others carried in Landon's body.

"Hey, you good, Katie?" Ned asked, helping her stand again.

"Yeah, fine," she said, leaning on him for support. She wasn't even remotely fine and felt as though there was blood dripping off of her hands, and she would never be able to wash them clean. "I just want to check on Jasper and make him this tea."

They walked into camp slowly and when one of the guys from Landon's group walked up, Ned told him to get Katie whatever she needed for when she tended to Jasper.

That's when she realized Ned must be trying to show everyone that he was taking control of things now that Landon was gone before Murphy had the chance, and she was thankful. Katie would be safe with him in charge, but she wasn't so sure about Murphy.

"I better go get this grave dug," Adam said as he stepped up and looked down at Landon's body.

Hannah came running out of the dropship as Adam walked off with a couple of boys to dig Landon's grave.

"I'm gonna have to deal with the fall-out around camp," he hissed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I don't know when I'll make it to the tent tonight so don't wait up if you're tired."

"Okay. I'm gonna go check on Jasper," she said, seeing him glance over her as he remembered her being wobbly on her feet and she gave Ned a slight nod to reassure him she was fine and could stand on her own. "I'm fine. Don't worry. I just need some water and to lay down."

"It's about time!" Hannah said breathlessly as she ran up to her as Ned walked away. "They were talking about killing Jasper tomorrow if he doesn't get better… did you get the medicine?"

Katie blinked tiredly at her. It took a minute to process her words. "Yeah. I-I got it, Hannah." She replied with a nod. "Sorry, it took so long. The fog hit and we had to take cover."

"Yeah. We know." Hannah explained, seeing Landon behind her. "It trapped everyone in the dropship. Anyone who stayed in their tents was okay too. Is that—?"

"Yes. We think Landon was caught in the fog when he was trying to make it back to camp." Her voice sounded farther off than it should. She shook her head in an attempt to clear it. It doesn't really work. "Did we lose anyone here?"

"No. Just some minor burns of a few people, but nothing serious," Hannah said solemnly, shaking her head in disbelief. "That's terrible."

"I guess we're going to have to get used to people dying down here," Ned muttered as he came back. "He, can I talk to you before you go check on Jasper?"

Katie glanced over at him, seeing the tension on his face. "Why?" She asked.

"There's been talk about what happened with Landon. Good and bad," he said, voice low. "Just be careful. Don't go walking off alone."

She shook her head. "Why?" She asked again. "You don't give me orders, Ned."

He sighed. "I wasn't trying to give you any kind of order. Just be careful." Ned walked off again.

"On the bright side Jasper woke up, but he's in a lot of pain," Hannah rushed out the moment she had a chance, and the urgency was back all of a sudden.

Katie smacked the side of her head to get her eyes to focus properly, ignored the look that Hannah gave her, and ran off toward the drop-ship as fast as she can on ridiculously tired legs.

She clambered up into the drop-ship, practically running to the makeshift medical bay. There, on the table they'd prepped a few nights ago, was Jasper, awake and sort-of smiling, but alive.

Toby was checking on him it seemed and didn't notice her when she walked in and set down her pack. Katie pulled out the dried seaweed and placed it on another table with various other herbs Toby or even Hannah must've collected.

They were both from station five, the gardening, and medicinal station.

"Uh," she said, awkwardly. "I have the seaweed here."

Toby was startled by her, and grimaced, but waved her over. Jasper looked happy to see her though, and he hadn't been awake any of the times she'd seen him before.

"Was that a dream or did I get speared?" Jasper asked, eyes fixated on her.

She laughed with him and shook her head. "You'll have a very impressive scar to prove it," she said, smiling at him. "How are you feeling?"

"I wish I had some of that good stuff from back home," Jasper groaned, but with a smirk on his face. "You know, the stuff I got locked up for."

Katie knew what he meant, and rolled her eyes. "Yes, that stuff can be plenty of fun and medicinal as well." She glanced up at Toby after that. "Do you have his vitals?" She asked, trying her very best to be all business with him.

Katie was far too tired to navigate delicate social interactions with her ex today, and she doesn't want to risk having to talk about anything that had just happened in the last hour. Especially with Toby.

It's been a stressful couple of days for everyone, and she really just wanted to make sure they survived through it all.

"Right here," Toby said as he held up a piece of paper for her.

She walked briskly over and took it, reading over the numbers messily scribbled down. "These look pretty good," she said. "For now, I'd say the best thing to do is rest. We'll make him the tea, as I said before, and after that just rest, with someone there to watch over him. Hannah, I assume – "

"Yeah, I'll look after him." Hannah came to stand beside her brother, lifting her hand to brush some of his hair back from his face. "Should I boil some water?"

Katie was just too tired for all of this and Hannah had offered already. "Yes, that would be wise." She yawned.

"No problem," Hannah said, happy to have something she can do. She could tell the girl doesn't like just having to sit back and watch as her big brother maybe dies, and with people disappearing and Landon's death, it's a thing that's happened too much lately. "You should go grab some sleep, Katie. You look dead on your feet."

"Thanks. I'm going to try," she said, shooting her a smile as she stumbles her way back to her and Ned's tent, desperate for some rest finally.

"Princess!"

She was two feet from their tent and she felt like crying as she was once again stopped from just getting some damn sleep. It had been a very stressful day.

She could feel her temper rising quickly then and spun around on her heel to stare Murphy down. He was the last person she wanted to see, and she knew he'd lost a friend today, but she's tired, he wasn't her friend or a good person, and she felt no shame taking her frustration from all the shit she's had to deal with lately out on him.

"First of all, Murphy, don't try to talk to me after what you did to me with Toby." She laid it all out there, no time for remorse. "Secondly, I don't have time for this because I have been up all night, and to top it all off I had to take someone's life today."

"Yeah, I heard about that." Murphy stepped closer to her. "Who gave you the right to kill him? You aren't the Chancellor down here on Earth."

"I never said I was," she said, turning around to unzip her tent. The boy grabbed her shoulder and she brushed him away. "Back off, Murphy. I mean it."

"Why did you do it?" Murphy asked again, yelling now, causing a commotion. "He might've made it! If Jasper gets the benefit of the doubt why not Landon?"

"Did you see him?" She turned around, shaking her head in disbelief. "Do you really think I would just kill someone for kicks? He begged for mercy and I did what I had to do."

Murphy scoffed. "That's rich coming from you, Princess. Everyone knows you hated him."

"I didn't hate Landon, Murphy. We just didn't see eye to eye," she muttered.

She noticed Ned walking toward them and saw it written all over his face. He was going to let Murphy have every ounce of rage that he'd been holding in.

"Hey!" Ned yelled. "What's going on here?"

"Just talking with the murderer here," Murphy spat out with an eye roll.

"Just calm down," she tried to say to him. "We'll talk about this in the morning, okay? It's been a long day."

Murphy's eyes switched between her and Ned, smirking as he chuckled. The boy shook his head before he lunged over to grab her roughly. He yanked her close to him and held a knife to her throat. "I'm sick of listening to you talk."

"Let her go," Ned lunged forward and he pressed the blade in enough to make her cry out and he backed off a bit.

"I will slit her throat. You know I will," Murphy said to him, voice dark. "I want justice for Landon and she herself admitted to me that she took his life. Is that not murder?"

Ned stepped closer, arm outreached. "Murphy, this is not happening." He said as calmly as he could, but Katie could see the fear on his face that he struggled to keep in. "She didn't murder him."

"Then explain to me what she did," Murphy yelled, pulling her tighter to him when she tried to wiggle free of him.

"I told you," Katie began.

"SHUT UP!" Murphy screamed and spit sprayed all over her face and she felt his hot breath on her cheek, the blade pressing hard enough into her neck again to where she knew she'd have a slight cut there.

"Just calm down, Murphy." Ned tried to say.

The boy wasn't having it. He wasn't his "justice", but it was more like revenge or some kind.

"SHE'S JUST A STUPID GIRL, NED. DON'T LET YOUR DICK CLOUD YOUR JUDGEMENT," Murphy screamed, a madman. "I THOUGHT LANDON WAS YOUR FRIEND?"

"He was," Ned said softly. "And I was there, Murph. I saw what happened. He wanted her to do it."

As someone on the far side of Murphy edged closer, a twig snapped and he moved enough for Katie to move out of his grasp. She shot over to Ned and he embraced her quickly as three boys circled in around Murphy.

Katie held onto Ned, soaking in the feel of him around her as she heard Murphy take on the group of guys trying to settle him down or wear him out.

"Are you okay?" Ned whispered into her ear before he tilted her chin up to see her face.

She nodded and he gave her a look, but she smiled. "I'm fine. It's not the worst thing to happen to me."

He sighed, nodding as he leaned down to kiss her. He didn't care if the whole camp saw them, and frankly, neither did she. For five whole seconds, it was all she'd wanted from him.

When he broke apart from her, that was another matter.

"Promise me you won't hate me," he said, giving her a slight "you probably will anyway" look.

"Can't say that until I know what you did," she said, eyeing him as he slowly pulled apart from her.

That's when she noticed the boys he had sent to help distract Murphy had worn him out until they could grab hold of him. Katie knew what Ned was going to do before he even threw the first punch. It had honestly been a long time coming.

"Ned," Murphy said gently, fear seeping into his voice.

Had he hoped to plead his way out of this? It didn't matter, because whatever he saw on Ned's face, it scared him. Ned plowed into Murphy, taking him to the ground. There was so much force in every blow.

He rained punch after punch onto Murphy as if he meant to smash him into the very earth.

"Ned, stop!" She yelled. "You'll kill him!" It was one of the surrounding people who actually stopped Ned, grabbing him and heaving him off of Murphy.

"Get off me!" he roared. "He deserves to die!" Murphy was unmoving on the ground.

Katie couldn't tell from where she stood in the dark, but he looked dead to her. She didn't have the will to move. She was exhausted and in pain.

"No!" Katie realized she was still shouting. "We don't decide who lives and dies. Not down here!"

"So help me God, if you say the people have a right to decide—" Ned was cut off.

"No," she started walking toward him. She was starting to feel dizzy but shook it off as anxiety from everything that was happening. "Sometimes it's dangerous to tell people the truth. But if we're gonna survive down here, we can't just live by whatever the hell we want. We need rules."

"And who makes those rules, huh? You, Ark Princess?" Someone from the surrounding crowd yelled.

"For now, we all make the rules. We decide as a group what happens, ok?" Katie gestured to everyone around her without really looking at anyone.

"So, what now, then?" Ned asked. "We just take him back and pretend like it never happened?"

"No!" She shouted. "We banish him."

It was so quiet suddenly, that Katie wondered if she had passed out. Then her wondering about it made her realize she was still conscious. That and the fact that she could still sort of see.

She really needed to lay down. The fuzzy figure that Katie had related to Ned leaned and grabbed another fuzzy figure, probably Murphy, and moved closer to her.

"Ned, don't hurt him anymore!" She tried to plead with him.

He took him over to the wall and ordered the people on the first-night watch to have it opened. "If I ever catch you near the camp or Murphy," Ned said. "I'll be back to finish this. Understand?"

The two blurs shifted and one fell to the ground. Katie didn't know who was which but felt someone's hand on her shoulder.

"You good, Katie?" Ned's voice was warped in her ears, but she could still make out the words.

"I need to lie down," she heard herself say it, but it didn't sound like her voice. It was too deep and somehow in slow motion.

Katie felt weightless. She knew with an innate certainty that she was being carried a moment later and heard the tent being zipped closed.

"Have you eaten anything today, Katie?" He asked her once he had her laying down and had given her some water.

Her vision came back slowly as she relaxed and could see Ned's handsome face looking down at her. He was concerned, not as worried as when Murphy had held a knife to her throat but worried all the same.

"Not really," she answered his question and he sighed.

"Stay here. I'll have someone get you some food," he said, peeking outside of the tent to come right back to her side. "You need to start taking better care of yourself and stop worrying about everyone else."

She shrugged. "I'm sorry, Ned."

"Don't be. It's what I love most about you," he said, smiling at her as he leaned down to kiss her forehead. "You scared me. Murphy sacred me. I thought I could lose you tonight." His voice was muffled, as he was talking into the skin of her forehead. He couldn't look at her if he was going to say this or he would lose the courage. "I love you, Katie, and I don't know how to just ignore that and go back to normal— seeing you like that today— I, Kaite… I couldn't bear it."

Katie remained silent during his speech, but her sad and tired eyes remained on him. She squeezed his hand in an act of forgiveness and comfort, and they both understood what she meant by it.

Finally, she began to speak, her words coming out slowly, "I love you, too, Ned; and I don't want you to go and pretend like this never happened, it did, and I know how you feel. Now you know that I share everything that you feel for me."

Ned moved to lay beside her and called her attention with shy kisses against her neck as he cleaned the bit of blood there with a swipe of his thumb, mumbling phrases of comfort. Katie finally allowed herself to cry out all the pent up feelings from having a knife to her throat tonight and leaned forward into his chest, where he held her until she fell asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

Katie sat at the foot of Landon's grave, a bunch of wildflowers in hand. It had become a part of her routine over the past few days to come here and take a moment by herself. It was hard to process the idea of taking someone's life, even if it was out of mercy.

Tears wet her face and she cried, letting herself be open out here where she was alone. She couldn't talk to Ned. Whenever she tried to she could see the grief over his childhood friend on his face and knew he must blame her. It wasn't her fault Landon had been trapped in the fog, but it was her hand with the knife that took his life. He must hold her responsible for some of it like she did. He had been sitting right beside her, his eyes trained on her solely.

When a branch cracked behind her it took the moment from her and she rose to her feet with her knife drawn in defense. Instead of someone coming to attack her, it was Ned.

"You shouldn't be out here alone," he told her, sighing. "What if I was a grounder? Or even Murphy?"

She couldn't believe of all the people to be talking to her about safety, it was the most reckless person in camp, and she put her knife away. "Says the guy who just spent another night exploring the woods all by himself," she muttered.

He shook his head, eyes light and airy as he raised his eyebrows playfully, and his smile bright. "But I'm reckless and irresponsible. I'm also trying to scout the area." He teased her and she hated that Ned was so careless with his life, but somehow he still cared about hers. She saw his eyes move to the grave and his face showed hints of sorrow, but he wiped it away with a rub of his jaw. "Is that… his?"

"Yes," she whispered, nodding. "It is. I was coming to pay my respects."

"It wasn't your fault you know," he tried to tell her, but it didn't matter.

She didn't see it that. She'd killed Landon all the same no matter what he told her. Katie couldn't bear to look up at him as she felt her eyes fill with tears again, but then she heard him snap his fingers.

"I got you something," he said once he had her attention and after a few seconds pulled something from his sleeve.

A black ballpoint pen.

She grabbed it immediately. "Where did you get this?" She gasped.

"The writing supply store," he shrugged and then smiled at her. "You said you liked to write."

She nodded, looking up at him again and then hugging him. "You know when I was in solitary I wrote all over the walls with whatever I could convince the guard to bring me." She said softly. "Anything I could write with really… and I was lucky enough for him to do that."

She didn't want to say anything more or sound like she was bragging. She knew her privilege on the Ark being her father's daughter.

"Let's get back to camp," she said, giving him a gentle push. "Let's see how this wall is going."

Katie blew at a stray hair as it floated down in front of her face. She had slept with it down so she was fairly certain that it was a fluffy mess and ran her fingers through it to help tame it some.

"What are you doing?" He asked and laughed at her. "You look ridiculous," he said while laughing. "At least let me hold this while you fix your hair."

She smirked at him and felt something move inside her. He has the most epic smile, especially when it was directed at her. She frowned at him playfully and proceeded with detangling her hair. The toffee-colored locks felt dirty and she would have given anything in the whole world for some shampoo.

While her dirty hair had managed to keep her intended styles in place, but it was getting rather gritty… and none too fragrant. She pulled the mop over her left shoulder and wove it into a loose braid. It would have to do for now. When they got back to camp, they set out to help with the building of the wall for some time, but Katie was tired of the smell of her own body odor and needed to clean herself.

She had made her way to the waterfall she and Ned had found before. She had been informed that she shouldn't wander off by herself, but this was something she wanted to do in private. Something that should always be done in private. Glancing around to make sure that she was indeed alone, she set to work on her boots. She untied her laces and kicked the chunky boots from her feet. The feel of dirt under her socks was the most annoying thing she had ever felt. She pulled those off with a quickness.

Now the feel of the earth between her bare toes was something else entirely. It felt so nice to be one with nature when it was something new to be experiencing. Katie then pulled off her long-sleeved shirt and pulled her arms free of the garment. She cast another glance around her to check her surroundings. Feeling that she was as alone as she could get, she pulled her tank top over her head. The air was cool on her exposed abdomen and goosebumps rose on her skin. Katie then pushed her pants over her hips and stripped off her bra and underwear.

When she walked into the shallow water, it was cold and only came up to her waist now that she was alone. At least she knew she wouldn't be attacked by some strange giant snake/eel/lamprey creature. She sat in the cold water and dunked her head. Her head soaked up the cold water and she scrubbed at the locks.

There was no shampoo, no conditioner, no soap.

Regardless, she tried to get as much dirt and grime off of her body and out of her hair as she could. Feeling that she was clean as she was going to get, she slid out of the water and propped herself up on a dry rock and sat in the warmth of the sun. She watched the clouds move across the sky and heard the calling of birds. Katie hadn't felt so at peace in years. She looked back at the waterfall and some color in the water caught her eye.

There was a rose floating in the water.

She scooped the all-too-familiar flower out of the water and stared at the top of the falls. She glanced around the edges of the rocks and noticed hardly any vegetation at all. It was then that she realized that it was the same kind of flowers she'd left on Landon's grave, and whoever had left these blossoms for her had to be nearby; which meant that they had just seen her completely naked.

She jumped off the rock and began to frantically pull on all of her clothes. She had never gotten dressed so quickly in her life. She was walking and pulling on her boots at the same time, and her hair, wet and heavy down her back. Katie held the bloom to her chest and kept surveying her surroundings, hearing a crack of a tree branch. She was not alone. Someone else was out there with her and she knew it. But the question was: who?

Her eyes were wide as she walked quickly back towards the camp. She was trying not to run. If someone really was watching her, she didn't want them to realize she was scared. Or at least not as scared as she felt. She turned around and looked back towards the waterfall. There was no one in sight. Maybe she was just freaking out? But no, someone had to place that rose in order for it to float down to her.

If it really was another person at the camp that she was unsuspecting of, why couldn't they just come out and face her? Then again, what if it was one of the more dangerous occupants of the SkyBox? Or worse, a grounder. When she turned back around she found herself in Ned Banks' arms.

Katie swatted at him and backed away from him. Why was he out here? How had she not heard him approach? Or seen him? "What are you doing out here?!" she screeched, her fear bleeding into her words.

"I came to find you," he replied, chuckling slightly. He was looking at her like she had lost her mind or something of the sort. "I thought you might be out this way when I followed your tracks... I just wasn't expecting you to be... well..."

"Why would you think that? Why were you looking for me?" She asked, sighing. "It couldn't have waited until I came back to camp? I wanted some peace and quiet and to feel clean again."

"Look I just want to talk to you," he started, his hands shooting up in defense. "I know you've been ignoring me lately because of what I did to Murphy and I get it if you are upset with me for overstepping, but I only said those things because I care about you. You know how much I care about you, Katie, and you and me? We got something."

"So you put the flowers in the water?" She asked.

"Of course I did," he said, looking around them. "Who else is here?"

She let out a sigh of relief. So no one had seen her naked that hadn't before. That was all she cared about. Not that there was anyone else around camp who had before, except Toby. He sort of had one time, but that was a whole other story.

"Nothing. I was just, you know… indecently exposed," she said as she shook her head. "And no, it wasn't that… Ned, I don't hate you because of what you did." She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "And I wasn't actively ignoring you. I was just busy checking on Jasper and getting the wall set up."

His cheeks blushed. "Oh, right… I'm sorry if I startled you," he said with a slight smile. "Or made you uncomfortable."

"Never," she reassured him with a smirk.

She saw the look on his face and caught his lips in a kiss before he had the chance to make the first move. The next thing she knew they'd stripped their clothes off and were in the water together, only this time they were alone again and nothing was going to stop them from enjoying a little fun.

* * *

"Jim, where are you?" Melinda demanded through her wristwatch, sending an audio call to Jim's.

They were set to take off in fifteen minutes and she had to say goodbye to him. She couldn't leave without another hug or kiss, and even if this morning and the afternoon together before had been more than enough, she needed to say goodbye again. When he came running into the waiting bay of section twelve, she crushed him with a tight hug.

She turned her head up to find him looking at her and they kissed. They wouldn't have separated if it wasn't for Mackenzie's clearing her throat.

"We take off in five," the girl said, glancing at Jim with a slight nod before going to enter the space pod.

They kissed again, and she felt not only her own tears on her face but Jim's too.

"I love you," she whispered, holding him as close to her and her eyes fell closed.

"I love you too," he said, tucking his face into the crook of her neck. "Tell Katie that for me too."

"Of course. Promise me you'll follow when I radio in as soon as you can," she told him, feeling his thumbs wipe away her tears despite her eyes being closed.

"I will. You know I will," he said, hugging her one last time before he stepped back. "I love you. Godspeed, Melinda."

She entered the space pod before she began to try to convince him to come with her and buckled into her seat. Josh and Mackenzie were already there and waiting and soon the young girl began her checklist for take-off.

Melinda closed her eyes and said another prayer, wondering how long until they would go, which was already been answered by the increasing cacophony of the clashing makeshift ship. She took in a deep breath as the vessel started to shake. She looked over, wishing Jim was there and Mackenzie locked eyes with her and she held out her nervous hand.

They gripped each other's hands tightly, and Melinda let out a breath through her lips and loosened her hold of his hand, only to find that the girl still held on as if for her dear life. The funny thing was, they were. The shaking of the enclosure increased violently and Melinda squeezed her hand to match Mackenzie's strength. Lights started to flicker ominously...on...off...on...off...and then the light returned.

Melinda had never been afraid of the dark, not even as a child. Why be afraid when fear can be turned into a strength? That's why she became a doctor- to be the strength that others needed. However, at this very moment, Melinda was afraid. She couldn't bear the unknown, to not have control over the imminent future. Would they sizzle while entering the atmosphere? Or could they manage to land safely back on Earth? Would she ever see Katie again? Would she ever see Jim again?

A deafening noise curbed her thoughts and Melinda closed her eyes. She placed her other free hand back for Josh, who grabbed hold, finding comfort in holding onto the warmth with both their hands. Their limbs started to thrash back and forth from the ship's collision with debris.

Slowly but surely, the vessel started to heat up and its passengers feared the end. How high would the temperature rise before they all perished, killing them slowly and painfully? Perhaps a sudden fire would engulf them instead, allowing for a rapid death?

The vessel lurched vigorously, and everybody held on that much tighter. The heat was just short of unbearable, piercing their bodies to ignite the very core, and the thunderous made it almost impossible to hear anything else. The end was near.

Whether to their deaths or to a new life...one could not tell. The former seemed like the likely scenario, but then the vessel jerked once more and suddenly the violent movements subsided. The three passengers of the space pod swayed back and forth, back and forth along with the steady motion.

Then it was silent. There was no hum of a machine like on the Ark.

Melinda opened her eyes and scanned the small enclosure. Nobody dared to speak in fear of destroying the senseless phenomenon that they were still alive and that they had collided with something solid. Like the ground. Just then, the radio buzzed and she heard a voice on the other line.

"Pod one, come in. If you are receiving this message please respond." Jim's voice was mixed with heavy static, but she heard it and grabbed for the microphone after quickly unbuckling. "Pod one, come in. This is the Ark Station, and if you are receiving this message please respond."

She pressed the button, answering him. "This is Pod one. Melinda responding. We have landed on the ground." Then she leaned back into her seat with a sigh.


	13. Chapter 13

Katie was dead on her feet, but she was too stubborn to let something as petty as exhaustion stop her, not when there was more work to do. The problem was there was always more work to do on the ground. Her ribs ache the most, the bruise from colliding with a hunk of rock when Ned pressed her up against the side of the waterfall was blossoming to a painful blue already.

The rest of her body just felt wrung out despite any rest or relaxation, like she hasn't slept for a week. Still, she trudged on through the low fires of the slumbering camp, to the place she knew Ned will be.

"Princess," he said in greeting, not even bothering to turn and look.

Of course, Ned could tell who she was by the sound of her footsteps alone. He probably had x-ray vision too, and echo-location.

"Moon-gazing?" She asked, clambering up next to him on the lookout post the camp had rigged, wincing as she stretched her punished ribs climbing to sit beside him.

Ned was pensively still, the planes of his face outlined by the waxing moon high above them. It's rare to see him so motionless when he was awake so she just sat beside him, taking in the huge expanse of the night sky. After living in the Ark all her life sometimes she was terrified by the openness of the world.

She let the fear roll past her though and breathed in the deep pungent smells of the forest. Awe. Awe was what she felt.

Ned sighed finally. "I'm wondering what will happen to us once your parents and the others get here." His voice was low, a deep soft rumble. "Do you know what I was on the Ark when I took that spacewalk? A janitor." His laugh was joyless. "Do you think that your parents would want someone like that for you?"

She tried to imagine Ned pulling a mop and pail behind him and failed. The idea was utterly ridiculous. He was worth so much more than that. Didn't he realize? She smiled slightly, bumping her shoulder against his and trying to keep on the bright side. "Well, there's no floors to mop down here, Ned, so I guess you're out of a job."

He looked at her like she was completely unfunny. She wasn't really. She was too tired to do anything well apparently.

"Ned, can't you see that I would still choose you? Things will be different down here when and if they ever come down to the ground," she said and leaned in to rest her head on shoulder.

He glanced down at her slightly and smiled, but didn't say anything.

When she kissed his neck, he laughed and then leaned down to kiss her properly. "You are such a tease, Princess," he whispered against her pillowy soft lips.

She giggled, "I can't help it."

His lips trailed down her neck this time and she hummed in pleasure he did so, running her hands through his hair. Katie enjoyed the night sky around the, basking in the beauty of the scenery and the feeling his lips on her. When she noticed the shining light in the sky.

"Look," she said and Ned moved his head to glance up.

"A shooting star?" He said as though it wasn't the first one they saw, let alone together.

"Make a wish," she told him, smiling as she thought of her dad just then and all of his different weird history facts he'd ever told her.

Ned laughed, confused. "Why?" He cupped her cheek as he looked at her, biting his lip. "Is there some special reason?"

"It's a thing people used to do a long time ago," she said with a shrug. "My dad was a history teacher before he was the Chancellor and still knows a lot of facts. It's one fo the many stupid ones I still remember."

He nodded, sort of understanding. "But it's just a rock burning up in the atmosphere," he said, shaking his head then. "Why would that make your wish come true?"

"See, you are way smarter than you think you are," she said, leaning in to chastely kiss him. "My parents would love you the moment I told them you saved my life not once but twice."

He smiled wider. "Three times," he corrected her with a wink.

They kissed again and didn't break apart for some time, but when a loud sound caught their attention they looked up to the "shooting star" soaring toward the Earth.

"That's not a shooting star," he pointed out with a sigh. "And that looks too small to be a dropship. Maybe another cargo pod?"

It had to be a space pod of some kind from the Ark and it landed with a crash.

"Let's go. Find someone to cover your watch while I pack a bag. Anyone within a hundred miles saw that fall and we need to get to it first," she told him and pulled on his arm to hopefully get him to follow her quicker. "And hopefully there's another radio that won't get smashed this time."

* * *

With Melinda gone, Rick's proposal slid right through the council without any hassle and now three hundred and twenty people were going to be selected from the population to be sacrificed.

Jim had been looking at the compiled list for the last hour, just reading over the names of the soon to be dead if he couldn't make a miracle happen. He leaned back into his office chair and had never felt more alone in his entire life.

With decisions like this, he always talked them through with Melinda, but she had launched the space pod some five hours prior and they had yet to hear back from her since the landing. That could mean anything, but for some reason, Rick had been able to convince the entire council that she, Mackenzie, and Josh were most-likely dead if she didn't radio back by the next day.

But that still left the decision to be made of the culling of three hundred and twenty people to be made. It had been an hour since the meeting was adjourned and it still didn't sit right in his stomach. How could he condemn innocent people and lie about it?

Rick's plan was to not tell anyone of the plans and to just shut off the oxygen vents to an entire station at his choosing based on crime rates. Station eight had one of the highest theft rates among its inhabitants, but it was also one of the poorest sections of the Ark along with station eleven.

There were more than a handful of kids on the ground who's families would be dead come nightfall, and they wouldn't even know.

The man who had designed to plan sat across from him in his office, blank-faced and holding a file in his hand along with his tablet. Rick Payne was a man who at one time he'd envied when he'd had Melinda on his arm, but now he sat ready to sign off on the deaths of innocents.

"What's the exact plan in order, Rick?" He asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

There had been enough lollygagging around the subject.

Rick looked up from his tablet. "At 1930 hours all hatches and vents that are leading to station eight and the SkyBox will be sealed. It will appear to be a malfunction of the fire containment system."

He let out a deep sigh. "So it will look like an accident then?" He asked.

The smug look on the man before him's face made Jim want to strangle Rick. He knew the cost of saving the people of the Ark, and it shouldn't be this. It shouldn't mean lying to his people and killing them in their sleep.

"It's essential to maintaining public order after the culling takes place, Jim. We need to appear united on all fronts," Rick explained to him as though he were talking about something as simple as the new rotating schedule for the guards. "I know that Melinda leaving had a—"

"I don't want to hear any sympathy from you," he practically growled like a rapid animal but snapped his jaw shut before he said anything else. "Just continue on with the plan. My personal life is none of your business."

The man nodded and looked back down at his tablet emotionless. "All of the residents included in the culling will be in their assigned sleep period. The council has issued a write of consent giving you, the Chancellor, permission to carry out the population reduction." Rick slide the file folder onto his desk as he spoke. "A sleep-inducing gas will be introduced into the air and on your command, Jim, the oxygen supply will be cut off." Rick met his eyes then. "It should be rather painless."

That doesn't make it any less than it was. They would be murdering three hundred and twenty innocent people tonight, even if it was to save three thousand others. Part of him was grateful some were criminals themselves, the worst of the worst that he wouldn't allow to go to Earth for a second chance, but they were still human.

His Katie was deemed a criminal all the same for saving her mother's life.

"The document needs your final approval, Jim," Rick said finally, catching his attention again.

Jim hadn't even realized until then that he'd grabbed the picture sitting on his desk. One of him, Melinda and Katie and he sat gazing at it even after Rick spoke.

They were all laughing at something and he couldn't remember exactly what, but he did know that his mother had taken the phone in the spur of the moment just weeks before Faith passed. It had been one of the last good times they had before everything started to go downhill.

Once his mother had gotten sick with Pneumonia, Melinda had and everything had rolled from there. That was another thing he was oddly grateful for. His family was all gone and he no longer had to worry about them. His dad had died when he was little of a heart attack and his brother Daniel had been floated when he was seventeen.

Melinda had been with him when he grieved just had he had for her when her mom and grandmother had passed. She had never known her father and had to take care of herself for the most part after sixteen, but she'd done that and then still became a doctor.

Jim and Melinda had been best friends for years before they ever took anything to a romantic level, but things had gotten complicated for a while when she dated Rick, but she had always been there for him when he needed her to be and he did the same for her.

When she had broken things off with Rick before graduation he thought it was his chance, but lost her again to Kevin McCall's ever sweet and charming words for another two years.

For a while, Jim thought he might've lost his chance forever until she told him one odd night that she thought Kevin might propose, but instead of telling Jim she wanted to say yes she told him that she loved him.

He'd had to ask her to repeat it three times before she finally punched him and realized what he was doing. It had been such a dream his entire life that Melinda Gordon loving him couldn't possibly be true, but it had been. They were married later that year when Melinda had been fast-tracked to become the next surgeon on the Ark by twenty-two and had Katie not long after that.

Now they were apart again.

_You have to have faith_ was being whispered in the back of his head. Melinda's soft voice reminding him over and over, but what if the worst had happened as Rick had said? What if not only he sent his daughter down to die, but let the love of his life go down there too?

"Jim, if I may—"

"I said I didn't want to hear your sympathy Rick and I meant it," he said as he placed his picture back onto his deck. "Having a son the same age as my daughter doesn't make our situations the same. Neither does you being married matter either."

The man scoffed and shook his head. "All I was going to say is I'm a busy man, Chancellor. I don't have time to be sitting here watching you wallow in your emotions," Rick muttered. "I need you to sign the document, Jim. Unless you're going to executively veto it which would only delay and cause more people to die."

He groaned and signed the paper. "You have my consent on one condition," he said, standing up. "You will give the order to seal the vents."

Rick looked pleased but had the decency to look shocked as well. "I don't have the authority."

"Tonight as Chancellor you will," he said walking over to the shelf on the far side of the room and grabbing the half-drank bottle of scotch he planned on finishing before the night was over. "I will be going to the SkyBox tonight and will be among the people sacrificed tonight. I will be taking the radio with me just in case Melinda radios in for then I will cast my veto on the proceedings tonight."

When this news came out Rick looked even more shocked then and walked up to him. "Jim, you can't be thinking straight. This is madness," Rick said. "I know you miss both Melinda and Katie, but this shouldn't be the answer."

He ignored him. "I know I will be leaving you in turmoil, but you have a mindset not weakened by sentiment." He said, twisting the cap off his bottle of liquor and grabbing a glass off the shelf as well before going back to his desk. "That is what we need now more than ever. Grab a glass if you want some."

"Jim, please listen to reason." Rick tried to argue.

"I have and I have made up my mind. I cannot condemn the people that I am supposed to take care of to a fate I wouldn't be willing to take myself." He said, pouring a greedy half glass of whiskey before pouring some for Rick as he sat back down in his chair. "Melinda would understand."

"Because Melinda makes irritational decisions in face of fear just like you do," Rick muttered.

"As I said, Rick, you have my approval for this course of action and you know my conditions. I don't want to hear about your version of Melinda in your mind from before I was married to her." He said, sipping the glass as he turned his chair to face the glass window behind him. "I would like to be alone. I need to gather my thoughts before I go to visit Katie's cell. If you need me, that's where I'll be."

* * *

It was, Melinda thought, incredibly peaceful as she stood on top of the largest boulder she could find to get a good vantage point to see any major landmarks that might help them scout the area. It was dark out, but the sky was starting to lighten now that the sun was rising.

She gazed out into the beauty of the world that surrounded her and breathed in the fresh air. It was everything she'd ever dreamed it could be. Her moment was shortlived when she heard someone else climb up behind her and saw the familiar dark hair of Josh out of the corner of her eye.

Melinda didn't turn to face him, just allowed him to take in the wonder of where they had landed. It was something he should experience without her input. After a few seconds, she turned her head to look at him, to say something poignant about the occasion, but he immediately drew her attention to something in the distance.

"Melinda, look," he whispered, his gaze focused on something over her shoulder.

She turned and spotted the smoke even in the dark. "Is that?"

"There's smoke in the distance. It might be the base camp." He said, a hint of confidence about him. "I think I should go check it out once the sun rises." He checked his watch and nodded. "Should be any time now."

"You should stay and look after Mackenzie. She needs to fix the radio and I… I have to find Katie for my own state of mind." Melinda said glancing down to see Mackenzie tinkering with the radio and the engine.

The young girl had mentioned that she was going to try and use the leftover energy in the engine to try and jump-start the radio.

"Jim may have gotten my message about landing, but we need to tell him the kids are okay too or three hundred and twenty innocent people are going to die." She knew that he already knew this being Jim's right-hand man until today, but she felt like a reminder might do him some good.

"I will have it working by nightfall. Don't worry," Mackenzie piped up and smiled as she glanced up from what she was doing. "Fixing a radio is nothing compared to whipping this bad boy into shape in a few days."

Josh said nothing else so Melinda continued to enjoy the scenery around her until she began to climb down. Once she put her two feet on the ground she pulled her combat boots and socks off and let her bare feet feel the touch of grass.

It was damp, but it a good way, and the strands of grass moved between her toes. She felt like a little girl the way she laughed and wondered, had Katie felt the same way when she'd done it? Had she basked in the feel of fresh air around her and wanted to just lay in the sun?

She couldn't wait to see the sunrise just then and had remembered all the late-night talks she'd had with her daughter growing up about what the ground might be like.

It was everything they'd imagined and better.

"We should really just stick close, Melinda. What if you get lost?" He said quietly after a minute, reaching over and placing his hand softly on her arm to get her attention. "I'm sure the saw the group saw us land if they are nearby and will have a group come looking for what it was. You gave Mackenzie the correct coordinates, right?"

Melinda nodded, pausing to take in the beautiful landscape once more. The sky was a little brighter even in the last few minutes. The sun would be up in no time. She turned and smiled sorrowfully at the man stood beside her.

"You're right," she replied, glancing back towards the trail of smoke in the distance.

There were more than a hundred miles in every direction of woods and she could easily get lost and die out there within a few days if they couldn't find her.

"There's still some smoke rising here too," he pointed out. "If you want maybe we can go as a group to find some stuff to make camp. I can get a fire started once I can see and know what I'm looking for."

"Yeah, okay. That's a good plan, Josh." She said and laid down on her back against the cool grass. "You should join me and relax. It's nice down here. Take your socks off too."

He laughed and while at first hadn't pulled his boots off when he laid down next to her, after a few minutes he did.

"Was it worth it?" She asked him, glancing over to see him meeting her gaze.

"Oh, yeah," he chuckled.

Just for now, looking for Katie would have to wait.

* * *

Katie was running mindlessly through the forest, following the smoldering smoke in the distance. Ned was right behind her, but she was fast and her long legs gave her large strides.

While he may have been taller than her he apparently didn't have the same stamina she did to find whatever had crashed into the Earth from above.

"Come on, hurry up!" She called after him when he took a minute to catch his breath and she had to stop and wait for him.

He was breathing heavily and bent over, his head hung between his head.s "How are you not tired?" He panted, slowly jogging to catch up to where she was standing and waiting for him.

"Because I am running on adrenaline right now," she said, hopping in place. "We need to get there first, Ned. If Murphy-"

"Okay," he interrupted her, catching his breath. "I'm good. Let's go."

"Are you sure?" She asked, tugging him closer to her. "Because I can afford a few good minutes of makeout time if that's something you want to do."

It was like he's taken a breath of fresh air then as he kissed her. There wasn't any time better spent then kissing Katie.

There must've been something in the way he looked as he came over to change her mood about getting to the space pod quickly because her soft hand came up to cradle his face, pulling him closer as she opened her mouth for him.

Their kisses gradually slowed down and became deeper, more delicious, more addicting. Every new touch of their mouths, every twirl of their slick tongues sent ignited little sparks of passion in him.

He felt entirely warmer when she moved her hands under his shirt, even teasing just enough to get a moan out of him as he moved to kiss her neck and maneuvered them up against a close-by tree.

"This is going to be more than a few minutes if you keep teasing me like that," he warned her, nibbling just hard enough by her ear to hear her gasp.

"Do you want me to stop?" She asked, her hand halfway through undoing his pants and he grinned.

"No," he gulped and sealed their lips together again as she shoved his pants to the ground.

* * *

An hour later Melinda was in the process of setting up a small makeshift tent for them to sleep in, counting the few supplies they had been able to bring down inside when she heard a cough at the doorway.

It was from Josh. He stood almost anxiously at the doorway, eyeing her carefully as she moved around the improvised area.

She gestured for him to come in, which he did. Melinda watched as he took a seat next to the small table she had set up from broken off metal from the pod. She saw that he was holding a small metal cup and he raised it up to her.

"Water," he said simply. "It's from a lake nearby. I ran a couple of tests with that kit we brought down and it is radiation-free and safe to drink."

"That's excellent news," she said, relieved, and drank it down quickly.

That had been one of their main concerns, that the water wouldn't be drinkable and that the kids would struggle for freshwater, but at least that meant this was easy enough for them.

Josh reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small flask. Melinda raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

"I brought some for you," he commented simply, passing it over. "I'm probably correct in thinking that you haven't drunk anything since we landed?"

She accepted the flask graciously and nodded as she unscrewed the lid to take a deep pull of more water. The liquid was warm but refreshing and she closed her eyes at the sensation. She placed the flask carefully back on the surface and turned back to face Josh, whose face was impassive.

"So what's the plan?" she asked, watching the man opposite scan the tent as if cataloging everything inside like she just had been.

"We need to set up camp for tonight to start in case we don't find the hundred. Priorities will obviously be food and getting more water." He explained. "There are plenty of trees around, although we are limited by the number of tools we have available to us."

"Well," she started, looking up at him, "the kids would've managed to build a wall and shelters from what they landed in and what little I could send them. I'm sure we're resourceful enough to do the same for the time being."

Josh nodded in agreement. They each took a drink of their respective water, thinking independently. The two of them sat in silence for a minute or so, although, she noted, it wasn't particularly uncomfortable.

They had been good friends before their abrupt travels to Earth together because of his close relationship with her husband.

She studied the man in front of her as he sat, occasionally taking a drink of water. Josh eventually put his cup down and folded his arms across his chest, looking pensive. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then shut it again and sighed slightly.

"What is it?" She asked. Was there a problem? Had he seen something while getting water? Oh God… what if it was the hundred? What if…

"Mackenzie said she should have the radio working in an hour, so if you wanted to go scouting and looking for the kids we can," he finally admitted, locking eyes with her. "I think Mack can handle herself."

"I can!" The fifteen-year-old agreed from outside the tent.

It certainly wasn't what she'd expected him to say, and confusion spread across her face. She thought he was worried about getting lost, but she'd never expected him to cave so quickly.

"Okay. Just give me a second to get a pack together," she said with a smile to him.

* * *

Katie had long decided that she loved the sound of the forest. After a lifetime of constant mechanical whirring and the bustle of everyday life on the Ark, it was nice to be somewhere that felt so…open. She smiled as she spotted a small flock of birds above her, and listened to their calls as they hopped amongst the branches.

She looked up suddenly as Ned yelled someone's name. Except it wasn't hers and that confused her even more. They had just come into a clearing when he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Mackenzie?"

"What's going on?" Katie asked as she approached, looking forward and seeing the space pod that had crash-landed about twenty yards in, and a girl with long blonde hair tinkering with a machine in front of it.

Sweat trickled down the girl's forehead and she swiped at it with her sleeve when she looked up at the sound of Ned's voice.

"That's my little sister," Ned explained before he ran forward and swooped the girl up into a bear up before she'd even done more than stand up. "Mackenzie, what are you doing down here?"

Mackenzie laughed as he hugged her, swinging her around in the air. "I'll tell you once you put me down, big brother," the girl said, still laughing.

"Oh, sorry. It's just—" Ned glanced back at her then, waving her slightly forward. "I missed you."

Katie walked forward slowly, wanting to give them their moment. She remembered Ned mentioning his sister and that she was maybe fifteen. Why would the Ark send her? Did they send her alone?

"I missed you too, brother." Mackenzie hugged him again as she approached once he let her go. "It totally fine. I haven't seen you face to face in so long."

"You're so much bigger than six months ago," he said, squeezing her tightly and then letting go.

"Yeah, I know I got boobs!" Mackenzie said, chuckling as she stood up straight.

Katie laughed with her and Ned shook his head. "That wasn't what I meant, Mack." He groaned.

She cleared her throat. "So you going to introduce me or am I going to have to do it myself?" She asked.

Mackenzie's head snapped over to look at her as she approached. "Oh, sorry. Sis this is… Katie, my uh—" He glanced at her, smiling slightly.

"Friend," she had already extended her hand to the girl. "He's my friend. It's nice to finally meet you."

She didn't know exactly what she and Ned were yet. He was her person of sorts. The one she leaned on, the one she cared about a little too much to just be friends, but this was his sister and she wanted to tread lightly for his sake. He should be able to make that decision on his own time if he wasn't ready.

There was a knowing look on his little sister's face as she shook her hand and smiled. "Oh, that kind of friend. He's had those before." Mackenzie teased.

"Mack!" Ned's tone was harsh like he hadn't wanted her to hear about him like that, even if he'd already told her about his past.

"What? It's true," Mackenzie said, walking towards her. "Wait, did he say your name was Katie?"

"I know, he's told me," she said, rolling her eyes. "And yes, does that matter?"

"This is all because of your mom. Wait, just a sec!" Mackenzie said and ran off, ducking inside a tent nearby to leave them alone.

"Should we follow her?" She asked, but he waved her off and they stood and waited.

What was inside the tent?


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: There is a very angsty chapter below :) I hope you all enjoy xx Mariah**

**Jim — 42**   
**Melinda — 42**   
**Andrea — 42**   
**Rick — 40**   
**Eli — 32**   
**LeTrai— 30**   
**Adam — 18**   
**Katie — 18**   
**Ned — 18**   
**Toby — 17**   
**Jasper — 17**   
**Murphy — 16**   
**Hannah — 15**   
**Mackenzie — 15**

* * *

Melinda hadn't had much to pack besides a parcel of food rations, a map, and a flashlight. But while she was looking for the specific map, a commotion was made outside the tent.

Someone had yelled Mackenzie's name and there was laughter, some crying, and then there were other voices she began to hear too. Was it possible some of the kids that had come to curiously see what fell from the sky?

"Do you hear that?" She asked as she slung her pack over her shoulders and walked across the tent.

"You think some of the kids came here first?" Josh asked, hearing the other voices too as he zipped up his pack.

Melinda agreed with him, but before she could speak again she heard the familiar trill of laughter from her daughter along with Mackenzie's.

Was it really? Or was she just dreaming? Maybe she was even dying from the crash to the ground and this was all her final thoughts?

"So are you going to introduce me or am I going to have to do it myself?" The same voice asked and she shared a knowing look with Josh, who was smiling slightly.

It had to be her daughter. She knew that voice.

It just had to be.

"Uh… sorry," a lower voice said, a boy most definitely. "Sis, this is… Katie, my uh—"

"His friend," Katie had cut the boy off rather quickly, but she sensed something there. "I'm his friend."

"Katie," Melinda said out loud then, trying to reaffirm the information to herself while taking a deep breath. "You hear her too?"

"Of course I do and I'm guessing Mack's older brother too," Josh reassured her with a nod and then the tent flap opened. "You aren't going crazy, Melinda."

Mackenzie came inside and grabbed hold of her hands. "You should come out here. Your daughter is out there," the young girl said, smiling. "She's alive."

* * *

Katie had sat down by the time Melinda came out of the tent with Mackenzie and Josh, who had quickly gotten out of her way. And though her daughter wasn't even facing her direction, she had known it was her little girl from behind all the same. The boy she was with saw her first and by the smile on his face, he had known that Melinda was her mother too.

"Hey, turn around," the boy said softly, nudging her daughter slightly. There was an intimate way in how his hand was resting around her waist as he rubbed her back. Were they really, as Katie had said to Mackenzie, just friends? "I think someone there is someone you'll want to see you."

Katie turned and while she had a fair amount of tan and dirty to her complexion compared to usual, that was her beautiful daughter sitting down on a log just a few yards in front of her.

She was alive.

Melinda's breath caught in her throat and she felt ease spread through her that she hadn't felt since before her little girl had been arrested. Her daughter was alive and safe, and right there in front of her.

"Mom?" Katie rapidly stood and had run over to her without a second thought, embracing her tightly. "Even with what dad told me… I didn't know…" Her daughter was going through motions as she was, her voice cracking. "It was hard to put everything together without seeing you. I thought you were dead."

"I could say the same about you," Melinda said tearfully against the crook of her neck, holding her as close as humanly possible. She never wanted to let her go. "Did you take your wristband off like the others?"

"No," Katie was crying heavily now, her tears damp against her shoulder as she shook in her arms. Melinda held onto her tighter. She wasn't going to let her go unless her daughter asked her to. "I didn't want to. I'm so sorry."

"You can tell me all about that later. It's. I had hope and I know you're safe now," Melinda tried to reassure her and pressed a kiss to her forehead as she wiped away a few tears as they rolled down her cheeks. "And once we radio to your father, he will know it too."

"I will have the radio fixed in no time," Mackenzie said as she came out of the tent again behind her then.

Her daughter slowly pulled away from her, wiping away that last of tears. "Did dad have any... inkling or hope that I was alive?" Katie asked.

"He was trying to, but it's hard when everything is pointing to the opposite outcome." She said and then motioned toward the tent. "We should go inside and you should let me check your vitals. You look tired… and hungry. Your friend too. He can join us."

"Is that even a question? Of course, I want to go with you," Katie said, nodding and then waving to the boy who she had been sitting next to, inviting him over. "Food would be awesome, and catching up with you would be too. Though Ned might want to be with his sister."

"I can split my time and plus Mack is busy working on the radio. She has always worked better when left alone and that's more important than anything else right now," Ned said as he came up to them, smiling at her then. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Clancy. Katie has told me a lot about you."

Melinda had only seen them together for about thirty seconds and some of the time before Katie had realized she was standing there, but that's really all it took. While things might be complicated for young love, she could tell they cared for each other.

She knew her daughter all too well and could already tell she was falling in love with this boy, and he was probably doing the same with her for how easy going he was being.

"Ned, right? Mackenzie had talked an awful lot about you too." Melinda held out her hand and was going to be welcoming for now. She had no reason not to be besides that he had been arrested for taking a dumb joyride of a spacewalk, but she always reminded herself that her daughter had been arrested for stealing medication for her. "It's nice to meet you too."

* * *

After they had shared a bit of rations together and Melinda checked both Ned and Katie's vitals to see that they were in good health, then the boy left them alone to check in on Mackenzie.

There had been a bit of silence before Katie had started to open up and she started from the beginning, telling her about the monotonousness of being in solitary for however long she had been. Melinda had informed her then how long it had been, nearly a year, and that her birthday had passed a few days before.

"Oh, did it?" Katie said, shrugging and laughing all the while. "I don't feel any different."

"Yes, it was a rough day for your father and I both," she said, moving to sit beside her.

Before the spot had been claimed by Ned and as much as Melinda wanted to ask her about the boy that was obviously in her daily life, she waited for her to open up again. Too much time had passed between them for things to go right back to normal.

"I suppose it was," Katie sighed, shaking her head, then taking a deep breath before she looked up at her. "Mom? Can I tell you something without any judgment?"

"Of course, baby," she wrapped her arm around her, but her daughter turned her head away. "You can always talk to me. You know that."

Katie nodded, sighing again. "I killed someone," her daughter whispered quietly in the same way she had when she was little and knew she had done something wrong.

Melinda didn't know what to say or what she had been expecting her to say, but it had not been that. She moved her arm back to her side and her daughter's head snapped over.

"You promised no judgment," Katie reminded her.

"I cannot judge what happened to the full extent unless you tell me the whole story," she replied and slowly raised her hand to rest it on her back. "All I know is what you've told me so far."

Her daughter took another deep breath as she rubbed her back. "It was mercy… and otherwise, he would have died a slow, painful death, but it still haunts me every night." Katie confessed quietly, staring at the ground. "Or every time I close my eyes."

Melinda nodded and held her close, saying nothing. She had promised not to pass any judgment, but after hearing Katie's story she didn't feel the need to anyhow. She pressed a kiss to her daughter's forehead and thought about changing the subject.

They didn't need to dwell on this any longer.

"Are you going to tell me about Ned?" She said slyly though Katie laughed as soon as she did.

"Oh, him?" Katie was smiling now as she looked up at Melinda and then wiped away her tears. "You want to talk about him now after all that?"

She shrugged and wiped a few away too, smiling. "I thought it would ease over everything and I'm curious," Melinda said and laughed with her daughter again. "Can you blame me?"

"No, I guess I can't," Katie leaned into her shoulder and smiled again, but wider. "And I really don't know what to say about him… there's a lot there. A lot has happened."

"And?" She asked, hoping for a bit more than just that.

"And… what?" Katie teased, a watchful eye on her. "I care about him and we protect each other. I guess that's kind of what it comes down to."

Melinda rolled her eyes and kissed her forehead. "You know what I meant Katie and that was not it," she sighed, nudging her a little. "You used to tell me everything."

Katie sighed and shook her head. She turned her entire body away, shutting her out. "Mom, I am not the same person I used to be on the Ark anymore. I am not some frilly girl who wants to gush about boys." Her daughter was itching to move around, her leg bouncing irritably. "As much as I want to, I can't just pretend like everything is fine. I risked my life for you and as grateful as I am for not being floated, being sent down here was the same kind of death sentence."

"Okay, I didn't say you were, but Katie? There was a lot of thought put into this experiment and it was starting long before you were arrested." She crossed the tent to wrap her arm around her again, except she moved just slightly and her arm slid off. "And I didn't ask for you to risk your life for me. I never would have."

"Was I supposed to stand by and watch you die when I knew exactly what you needed, and exactly how to get it? No, I couldn't." Katie said, sighing. "Just like dad shouldn't have sent unarmed, unprepared teenagers to the ground! Do you have any idea what kind of hell it has been down here? I was singled out from day one as the Chancellor's daughter when I was put on the ship last. They call me Princess for God's sakes and I had my wristband ripped off by Toby out of spite because I won't return his feelings after everything, Jon Murphy put a knife to my neck for murdering Landon, and then there's Ned, who I can never fully read or tell what he's thinking half the time, but I'm falling in love with amongst everything crazy that's happening."

Her daughter's voice had risen with every word and emotion that flooded forward, and Melinda knew that anyone within ten yards could hear them. The rims of her were filled with angry tears, her face red.

Katie had every reason to be upset and she wasn't going to stop or silence her. Melinda had warned her husband of these very things and the resent their daughter may have for them in the long haul, but it didn't make it any less hurtful.

"Then there are the grounders," Katie muttered at the end of it all when there was nothing left to say.

It had taken Melinda a moment to understand what that meant, until it all made sense. "There are others on the ground? How many?"

"We aren't exactly sure of their numbers. We've never actually seen them," Katie said.

She was even more confused. "Then how do you know?" She asked.

Katie momentarily glared at her for interrupting her in the same way Melinda had done to Jim so many times over the years that it made her laugh. "What I know is they attacked one of the hundred," her daughter explained, but then after a moment of silence knew that wasn't enough information before she even had to say anything this time. "On the first day, a group of us left to trek to Mouth Weather for supplies. Ned, myself, Toby, Hannah, and Jasper. It was a two-day trip and the rest were going to make camp while we got supplies, but on the way there Jasper had a spear thrown into his chest. It was after we had crossed a river, so we assume it must have been a boundary since we had slept the night before in the forest close by with no trouble."

Melinda took in the information slowly and nodded. It could mean any number of things, but one thing was certain. Whoever had attacked felt threatened. Even by a group of teenagers.

"I see. We will need to tell your father all of this straight away when Mackenize gets that radio working again, and Katie?" She replied, turning her chin slightly so she could look her in the eye. "I know you're all grown up and can take care of yourself, but I came down here for a reason."

Her daughter sighed and shook her head. "Even as happy as I am to see you, why did you? It's not... safe." Katie muttered, biting her lip.

"Life isn't safe on the Ark either, Katie. There is a vote on the culling of three hundred Ark citizens that will pass if we don't reach your father in time. That's one of the reasons why I came down," she explained to her. "The other was because I needed to know if you were..."

"Dead?" Katie finished her sentence in the form of a question for her, but they both knew the answers. Their gazes met as she was about to talk again, but then Ned burst into the tent and her mouth closed. "What do you need, Ned? We are kind of in the middle of something."

"Hey, sorry, but Mack wanted me to tell you she got the radio working," Ned said, sharing a look with her daughter before he turned to leave them alone again. "The connection is a little fuzzy, but your dad is on the other end of the line."

However, the moment was gone.

* * *

Jim had been inside Katie's holding cell for some four hours reading every scribble his daughter wrote on both the walls and then the floors too when she finally ran out of room on the concrete around her. The same neat cursive that used to bring a smile to his face made his heart pinch now.

It was only a reminder of it all now. It even mirrored Melinda's, in a way, but his wife had never perfected her cursive the same way he'd watched Katie work at it for nearly her entire life. However, they shared the same rounded neatness to their scripts.

It was only another thing on the list of reasons he loved both his wife and daughter.

When he checked his watch, he saw it was nearing 1900 hours and left only thirty more minutes from anyone to radio from the ground. There had still been no word since Melinda's initial response, which worried him more than anything.

Jim had sent his daughter to the ground to save her life, but he had also endangered it just as much, and he might've sent her down to die. Just like he let his wife go and that could have led to her death now as well. He held the blanket from the cot close.

It still smelled like Melinda, the soft lavender perfume she'd always worn, from when she had come here to await her execution the same way Katie had. Only, he had been able to pardon his wife, unlike his daughter.

There was a little voice in the back of his head telling him that if everything had gone to plan maybe Katie was alive and Melinda too. They would hopefully soon be reunited and any radio issues might be quickly solvable, right?

Or was that all wishful thinking and far too perfect to be true with the latest events of the last year? Nothing ever came that easily in life.

But a sound jostled him from his thoughts. There was a soft static coming from the overhead speaker and an intelligible voice coming in and out on the Ark wide channel. Was it them?

Jim lunged for the door to the cell and pulled it open from where he had left it ajar, running through the empty hallway. He took the utility stairway, cutting through a few different doors using his keycard. There were a few moments where he thought he might've dreamt it all when he heard nothing more, but he was three stations away from the command center when the voice finally returned.

"Calling… the Ark stati…n…lese come in…" The voice was in and out and from Jim's memory a voice he sort of recognized the tone, but it wasn't his wife's.

The connection was still too harsh to really tell who it was, but hopefully, the communications team was already working on boosting the signal and privatizing the conversation so the entire Ark was not listening in. When he finally reached the command center, the doors opened and he noticed Andrea hard at work at her station, most likely trying to strengthen the channel.

Meanwhile, Payne was standing front and center barking orders as he walked in. "Get her off the Ark-wide channel! Now!" Commander Rick yelled, noticing him and falling quiet.

"Chancellor on deck," his door guard on his right announced as he walked through the room and up to Andrea's round table up front.

"What can you tell me? Have you privatized the call?" He asked, taking hold of a microphone in the middle of the table for whenever he needed it.

Andrea shared a smile with him as she looked up from her work. "Yes. It's no longer broadcasting to the entire Ark and the call is coming from Earth," she answered him. "Hi, Jim. I'm happy to see you."

"I'm happy to see you too, especially after hearing that. Can you strengthen the signal?" He said, glancing around the screens of the hundred's vitals.

Jim saw that only twenty or so were still lit up compared to before of the hundred teenagers he had sent down to the ground. His eyes lingered over Katie's dark screen as they did every time he'd come in here since her transmission had ended.

He pulled up a chair as Andrea continued to work, not wanting to bother her or hinder her in any way. However, it was soon stabilized and a clear voice came through the overhead speakers in the command center. The same repeated message from before, but clear now and definitely that of a young girl. Possibly the young mechanic Melinda brought down with her Mackenzie.

"Calling the Ark station, please come in," the girl's voice pleaded.

Andrea slid the microphone slightly over to him. "She can hear you."

"This is the Chancellor," he responded. "Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?"

"This is Mackenzie Banks and I'm from station eight. I came down to the ground with your wife, Melinda." The girl replied. "I am transmitting from there now. I'm sorry it took so much time to fix the fried radio."

"That's no problem, Mackenzie. I'm only glad you fixed the radio as quickly as you did." He said, releasing a sigh and hoping that his wife was okay if the girl was. But he needed a firm answer. "Are Melinda and Josh with you?"

"Yes, and Earth is survivable," Mackenzie answered.

"That is wonderful news," Jim said and he glanced up at Rick.

There was nothing that needed to be said between the men for the commander to know his culling plan was finished. There was no need to end any innocent person's life now when there was an option to go to the ground, and especially not three hundred and twenty.

Now they would just need to prepare another dozen dropships for their descent to the ground, which could take a month or so with all the planning that they would have to do.

The council would also need to figure out the best way to announce to the Ark population what was happening to the oxygen systems and why they would be traveling to Earth in the near future.

Jim stood and walked over to Rick. "Call the council together for a meeting in an hour. The entire council. I want every station rep there, you hear me?" he ordered him.

"Loud and clear, Chancellor," the man muttered on his way out of the room.

There hadn't been any more talk from Mackenzie and he walked back over to the microphone and took the initiative. "Mackenzie, are you still there?"

Jim was met with a different voice this time, one that shocked him to the core.

"Dad?" Katie's voice rang through his ears.

As hopeful as he had wanted to be, he had thought his baby girl was dead. That somewhere on Earth she laid there, lifeless, and it would have been every bit his fault.

"Dad, it's me." His daughter spoke again and he released a deep sigh as he caught himself before he fell to his knees from relief. "It's Katie."

He held onto the table in front of him for dear life. His eyes were wet with tears as he shared a wordless glance with Andrea.

"Katie," he said, like a prayer on his lips. "You're alive."

It was all he could muster in the midst of his turmoil until he remembered the importance of everything. Katie beat him to it though.

"Yes, and the hundred are alive too. Almost all of us are, at least. We've had a few casualties, but that's not what's important right now." Katie replied, ever-present on what needed to be done. Just like Melinda. "Mom said there was going to be a vote on a three hundred people's lives?"

"That's not happening. I vetoed it now that we know Earth is survivable." He said, releasing a sigh. "I'm just glad to hear your voice, Katiegirl."

There was a lengthy pause and he thought he might've lost the call if Andrea hadn't told him the connection was still live. Then her voice came through again.

"It's good to hear from you again too, dad, but there's something I have to tell you. It's important and I should have told you the last time, but things got kind of rushed and cut off before." Katie said, explaining herself the further the more she talked. "A lot of the kids sent down here resent being thrown away as an experiment. They have been taking their wristbands off in return because they didn't want you to follow."

He glanced up at the dark screen. Had she done that? Did she resent him? "Katie, what are you trying to say?" He asked then. "Did you take yours off?"

"Of course not," she replied. "It was forced off by a group of boys. They hoped it would stop you from coming, but I guess it only fueled mom's irrational decision making that I inherited."

Jim let that brush off with a laugh. One he shared with his daughter. A first in a long while for both. Katie's ever lightening humor in times like these came from him. Or so Melinda liked to remind him.

"There's something else entirely though, dad," she said and there was a pregnant pause before his daughter spoke again. "There are people on the ground. They attacked one of the hundred when we crossed a river to try and collect supplies from Mount Weather— we think it may be a boundary. There is acid fog too. It has only shown up once and not again so far, but it's deadly. Otherwise, Earth is survivable. We aren't entirely sure about what the grounders want yet or why they attacked. We weren't acting threatening in any way."

Jim didn't know what to think of any of that information, but it was something to talk about in the council meeting in about forty-five minutes. "There are survivors on the ground from before?" He asked. "Do you know how many?"

"Yes, and no we don't know how many" she answered. "All we really know is someone threw a spear into Jasper's chest and that was taken by whoever did it, but we never saw them."

Jim hated the idea of his daughter having to see something so cruel. To have to live that way on the ground.

Katie must hate him for it. He wouldn't blame her.

"Was he one of the casualties? Did you find his body afterward?" He asked.

"No. Toby and I's medical knowledge saved him," she said and he released a thankful sigh. "Jasper is doing better now. The people we lost were two during the landing. I didn't know their names. We lost Landon too — to the acid fog and Brittany and Paul to food poisoning. Oh, you should probably know that John Murphy was exiled from camp too."

"John Murphy?" He looked over to one of the communications interns and asked for his personnel file to be pulled immediately and brought to him. "Why?"

"He tried to kill me, but I don't need you to freak out like you always do. It's handled." She said, trying to calm him down even from as far as she was. It wasn't helping. His blood was boiling. "I handled it, dad."

"He did what?" He asked anyway.

Katie audibly sighed on the other end. "Dad, it's a long story. One I should tell you in person one day, okay?" She said and that ended that conversation. "Look, mom wants to talk to you. I love you."

He took a deep breath and related himself the best he could. "I love you too, Katiegirl. Stay safe."


	15. Chapter 15

Melinda's heart was racing the entire time that Katie was talking to Jim and she could tell how frustrated her daughter was getting up until she ended the conversation and walked off after sharing a glance with her. She had wanted to go after her but had wanted to talk to her husband too. Especially when she noticed that everyone had given her some space from where they had set the radio up inside the tent now, she stayed put.

"Jim? You still there?" She asked.

A moment later his reply came and she smiled. "Of course I am. I always have been, Melinda." He said. "How are you?"

She was always his first concern. "A little dehydrated and sleep-deprived, but I'm with our daughter and that's all that matters." She said, her heart pinching just thinking about it. "She kind of hates me a little, but we'll work past that."

Jim sighed. "Yeah, me too. Welcome to the club," he muttered. "How are you, really, Melinda? No one can hear you but me. I'm in my office now."

There was nothing her husband couldn't do. He could read her like the back of his palm from 255 miles above Earth and through radio waves. "There's a lot going on since just my arrival and I cannot bear to think of what Katie's been through since she was sent down here." She replied, sighing. "I've only heard some of it and it breaks my heart. Some of it even scares me. She had to grow up down here to survive when she's still so young."

"Do you think she will ever forgive me?" He asked, sighing. "The first Exodus ship launches in sixty hours and I plan to be on board."

"I think when she sees you again things will be different, but we both need to try and give her the space she needs." She told him simply, trying to reassure him. "There are things she needs to tell you in person too. Things you will be able to help her through better than I can."

"What things?" He asked.

"I think you know what I'm hinting at, but this isn't my story to tell Jim." She replied.

She heard him sigh again and she shared the sentiment as she tried to rub her temples to rid of the headache that was bubbling right behind her eyes.

"How did it happen? Was it an accident?" He asked.

"Jim," she muttered, biting her tongue in hopes that would deter her. "Don't make me tell you."

"Melinda you can't just hint at telling me our daughter took someone's life and not tell me more information," he said on the other end, flatly. "I need you to tell me what happened."

She gave in rather quickly. "It was Landon. Sam Lucas' son," Melinda told him. "He was trapped in the fog like she told you, but he didn't die right away. He was going to suffer and had asked Ned to do it, but he couldn't because they were friends. So he turned to Katie. She should tell you anything else."

"I see. Thank you for telling me, Melinda," he said and she could practically see his set jaw and bouncing leg. "And you know, this is a little dark, but it's ironic."

She laughed, rolling her eyes. "Jim Clancy, shut up." She groaned. "So not the time or place."

"What? His dad shot me," he replied. "What else should I say?"

"Different topic. End of conversation. I miss you, Jim," she said, imaging the idea of kissing him again once he is on the ground. "And sixty hours is too long until I see you again. Though I am glad it will be that soon."

He chuckled. "I miss you too. Our bed is too big to be slept in alone," he sighed. "However, there is something more pressing I should tell you about. I know that there aren't enough supplies down there sent from the Ark, but there's an old emergency aid depot not far from your coordinates. Maybe ten miles to the northwest."

"Okay. That could prove useful," she said, moving across the tent and writing a quick note on her hand with a pen she had brought down with her. "Hopefully there will be some medkits and other stuff that we could use."

"It could even be used as a shelter for the remaining of the hundred if it's still intact until the exodus ship lands," he explained. "It was designed to withstand nuclear warfare."

"All right. It's worth a shot, honey," she said, smiling. "There is still enough light to get there and back before sunset, so I should probably let you go for now."

He sighed. "I have a lot to take care of as well, but I hate letting you go." He replied.

"Me too, but I'll see you soon. Possibly even in sixty hours." She reminded him, trying to reassure herself a little as well. "I love you."

"I love you too, Melinda," he said. "Stay safe and tell Katie how proud I am of what all she's done down there. I forgot to in the midst of it all."

"I will, but I'm sure she would love to hear it from you too." She said, her hand hesitating to end the call.

"Next time," he said softly, and she could feel his smile through the radio waves. "Stay safe, Mel. Talk to you soon," and he ended the call for her so she wouldn't have to.

* * *

Katie was sitting by the fire with Mackenzie, Ned, and Josh and they were all playing cards when her mother came out of the tent. They turned to glance over at her and both Katie and Josh stood, walking over to her.

"What's with the pack?" She asked first.

"We're going on a day trip. Your dad gave me directions to this abandoned supply depot that should've survived through the war." Melinda said, holding out an empty pack for her. "Shouldn't be too far of a trek considering we'll be getting supplies."

She nodded, swinging the straps around her shoulders. "Okay, how far?"

"Ten miles or so to the Northwest," Melinda said, and while that was a bit of ground to cover it wasn't too much for one day. "Your dad said that it could prove to be a good shelter, but it's been a very long time and any foundation could've eroded. If it is suitable we may stay the night there before going to base camp or will probably return back here."

Ned had shared her sentiment. "You say that now," he said, chuckling as he stood up from the fire and took another empty pack bag from her. "My legs burned after the first day of all the walking, but that one was nearly double that."

It wasn't long after that when they set out on the trek to the depot and halfway through the forest, they heard a twig snap in the trees. It wasn't from any of them.

Quickly, Josh walked off to scout a bit of the land, his gun pulled out of its holster for protection. "Stay low, just in case."

Katie, Melinda, Mackenzie all crouched down, silent. She noticed Ned scope a bit of the space around them but stayed low to the ground. They waited in the silence, and when Josh returned and they heard nothing more, they could only hope it was an animal and resumed the rest of their journey.

As they started off again, Ned reached out his hand to take Katie's into his grasp. "Stay close," he whispered to her, and she breathed a little faster, nodding her head. He probably couldn't see it, but that didn't cross her mind. She clutched his hand tighter and followed his lead through the rest of the forest.

When they made it into the supply bunker, Ned closed the hatch behind them. He lowered himself down the steps to where Katie had waited for him. Her mother had gone ahead along with his sister and Josh.

"Let's stay together," she said. "Just in case there are any surprises, okay?"

"Agreed," he told her, and they walked side by side deeper into the supply depot.

"You guys coming?" Mackenzie called out but noticed they had started to follow and then disappeared around the corner.

After a few minutes, Ned's sister got the lights working and they were able to see the space around them better. It was in petty decent condition, but no one could be certain of how strong the foundation was after all this time and it could erode and collapse eventually. They found trunks containing blankets and even a few tents.

There were old, crumbled newspapers as well, but they were so dry to the touch that some of them began to fall apart when they picked them up to read them. Eventually, she realized newspapers were the last thing they needed to survive, so Katie moved on from them while Josh emptied out one of the trunks. He scooted it towards the hatch, putting what supplies they would bring back to camp with them inside of it that were too big to fit inside the backpacks.

_It would be dusk soon_ , Katie thought. In fact, the sun might have been setting over the horizon now.

"We should go deeper and see what else they find," she said aloud, hoping to gather Ned's interest and sneak off as they packed some dehydrated food they found in the bunker into the trunk. They might have to check the expiration dates on them later, but it didn't hurt to bring them back with them now. "I see another hallway off to the left. There are probably more rooms that way. Who wants to come with me?"

It was an offer to anyone really, but Katie was hoping Ned would take the bait quick enough. However, he didn't.

"All right. I'll take the bait and come," Melinda said, tossing a blanket in the trunk Josh had put off to the side. Only her mother had quickly noticed the slight look she gave her and smiled. "Or you and Ned could go?"

"That's fine with me," he said, clueless to anything that was going on as he walked over to them. "We should probably wrap this up and head back to camp soon before it gets too dark anyhow."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Melinda said, sighing. "I was hoping this place would be a better fit for a shelter, but who knows how long the foundation will be stable for." Then she gave them each a look and started to walk away. "Well, I'll let you sneak off and have some time with your boyfriend."

And, really, nothing more needs to be said about the situation.

* * *

Katie and Ned quickly headed off to explore the rest of the supply depot. He opened the doors to the rooms, finding mostly-empty rooms in the first section. However, after about five doors, they began to find the rooms were somewhat furnished with an unmade bed and an empty trunk at the foot of it.

"This wing must have been the living quarters," she mused. "Maybe we should spend the night here after all."

"Hmm... looks that way, but like your mom said, we don't know how stable the foundation will be," he added, sounding annoyed. "Let's check this room, too. We've still got four more after this."

The next door was easier to open, even though it was larger and made of reinforced steel. Katie wasn't sure why that was, but when they walked inside, they found something that wasn't another bedroom. She pulled out her flashlight that her mom had given her back at camp when the light switch didn't work.

The floor was pure tile, and against the walls, there were faucets hanging every few feet apart from each other. Off to the left against the wall, there was what looked like a huge basin big enough for ten or twelve people.

"It's a shower room," she said breathlessly, feeling a smile tug at the corner of her mouth.

Katie realized her mouth was hanging open as she gazed over the room. She hadn't had an actual bath in forever or a semi-decent shower. The only thing they had were the waterfalls down here and the prison showers had not been a pleasant experience for her.

Ned walked ahead of her, and she watched him go. He put down his bag as well as his light, and his hand reached out for the handles beneath one of the shower faucets in the wall. He twisted it, and water came pouring out. She heard him hiss in response.

"It's ice-cold," he said, but he didn't remove his hand from under the spray.

Katie walked towards him, and she put down her bag and light as well. She held out her hand under the spray of water as Ned cupped his hands and took a big gulp of it. "Ugh, cold water," she said and smiled slowly, the expression turning into a grin as she cupped her hands as well and drank of the water. "Never thought that would be something I miss."

"Me neither," he said and grabbed more of it, splashing his face with it and then shaking his head.

She got hit with the spray from his hair and huffed in amusement, leaning away from him. "Watch it," she teased, scooping more of the water into her mouth.

Before she knew it, Ned had torn off his shirt and threw it aside. She heard him fumbling with his belt, and then had stripped down and walked under the spray of water. She admired his behind like she always did and when he turned to her, grinning in the small bit of light, she laughed with him.

"C'mon, Katie," he said, winking. "It's just you and me. No one is gonna follow us for some time. Get under the water. It feels great even if it's cold." He splashed his face with more water and tilted his head back into the spray.

She watched the beads of water pour down his chest and stomach. She turned away, shaking her head. Why was she looking at him like that? Was she really that into him?

He had a point, though. It's not like anyone else would follow them for some time and hse hoped her mom would play some interference. She reached down for the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head, leaving her standing there in her bra. She took off her pants next, which left her in her underwear. Her shoes and socks went next.

He smirked and shook his head. "Come on, all of it," he teased her.

"Don't you want to do it?" She said, sliding her underwear off as he walked toward her out of spite. "Oh… too slow. Only one item left."

He chuckled as he pulled her close, his body still warm despite the cold water. "I want to do it," he told her, unclasping her bra as he pressed a kiss to her neck, throwing it with the rest of her clothes. "I want you."

As he leaned in to kiss her, she ducked slightly and walked under the running showerhead. He might have been thinking about saying something, but whatever it was, he didn't say it. He only followed her, waiting for her to respond.

The water was cold, but it felt great. She leaned her head back into the spray, opening her mouth again to catch some of the water. She took a step back, but her balance was lost on the tile, and she fell into Ned. He caught her, two strong hands on her upper arms, his arms wrapped around hers. He was warm, strangely hot even, beneath the spray of cold water.

"Thank you," she said, slowly turning around in his arms. "You know, in response to what you said, I like being with you. You may be a total ass half the time, but I want to be with you too."

He laughed with her and loosened his hold on her as she did so, and then they were standing face to face under a shower of cold water. She felt whole again at that moment. It was like a magnetic pull was drawing her into him.

"Will you tell your sister about me?" She asked first, her hands on his chest.

"As soon as you tell your dad," he said, lightly teasing her.

"Really?" She said, rolling her eyes, but her heart was racing as their lips were meeting under the spray of water. "Touche."

Ned's arms were pulling her closer until their chests were touching, and her hands slid up his chest to his neck, pulling him down to her mouth. Slowly, it seemed as if the water had gotten warm, but no, that was just his skin. At least, she thought it was his skin. Steam rose around them as the water heater kicked in on the shower's spray, and she found them backing themselves into the wall.

They were kissing heatedly now with the spray falling all around them and the steam rising into the air. Katie should have questioned it. There were people not that far down the hall from them. Her mother was right down the hall from them. She probably should have thought they had better things to do than this, but the thought never crossed her mind the whole time. All thoughts left her mind as his fingertips slide smoothly against her.

She gasped, her thigh muscles clamping around his waist a little more tightly as her body hummed in pleasure. His mouth soon followed to assist his fingers and she allowed her head to knockback against the solid wall, finding comfort in the fact that it was keeping her upright along with his grasp on her. She canted her hips to meet his efforts, a hum emanating from somewhere deep in her throat.

"Holy shit, Princess." He gasped, chuckling.

The list of things that were capable of shocking Ned was short, and making her come that quickly as a result of him was apparently on that list.

"Ned—" The low, gravelly tone of her voice cut through his train of thought, anchoring his body in the present.

"Mm?" Her eyes were still closed when he kissed the hollow spot just below her ear.

"Stop stalling," she commanded, her hand tugging on his cock that was pounding against her. "We don't have all the time in the world."

He was ardent and passionate about claiming her then, whether it was with his lips or his body. That was very certain. He melted into her as he entered her, and for a moment the rock of his hips lost her under the spray of water. Her nails dug deep into his back and she let out a cry underneath him as he dropped his forehead to hers and his rough, uneven breaths mingled with her own.

"Katie, Katie, Katie," he whispered fiercely as her eyes fell closed and he buried his face in the crook of her neck.

She moaned underneath him as he buried himself inside her over and over, stoking the fire that raged within. Her legs came up to circle his waist as he supported her against the slick shower room wall, and she urged him on, arching her back to meet his every forward thrust. Little gasps were torn from her throat and he knew she was close, so he slid his hand between their bodies as he continued to move against her.

Katie's eyes were passion-drugged as she gazed up at him and Ned found himself wanting to break that spell. His green eyes glinted with a determined light, water running over him from the shower and into the edges of his slightly too-long hair from having left it uncut during lockup, all while he pounded into her as hard as he could. In the back of his mind, he wanted to gentle his movements, to not hurt her, but she'd made it clear what she wanted and by damn he was going to give it to her.

Her legs were shaking and the whimpering cries were building, and Ned increased his efforts. His fingers were slipping over her center and he added his thumb, applying firmer pressure. Her lips parted and she twisted her arms around his neck, losing herself in the sound of his ragged breath in her ear, the feel of him inside her, against her, surrounding her and shielding her from the world. He rocked against her again and again and their lips met as her nerves flared through her.

She moved her further legs back and moaned as the new angle set off tiny nerve endings with every thrust. A spark inside her was catching and the warmth grew as she burned hotter and higher and closer and- "Ned," she cried and he dipped his head, fusing his lips to hers as she came, swallowing her noises that drove him crazy, to keep the group down the hall from hearing.

He lost himself in her while she lost herself, too, but had torn himself back enough to pull from her before he let go. He leaned over her, breathing heavily as he held her up slighting while her hand was carefully placed behind his head beneath his hair. His hands carefully held her, though she could tell she might have bruises on her back come the next day, it was worth it. She wasn't going to complain.

Ned lifted his head from her shoulder. She could only see him just in the faded fluorescent light, but his eyes were telling and his face held a vulnerable and very readable expression. He was as content as he was.

Katie ran her hand along the side of his face, trailing her fingers against the water droplets still on his skin and understanding all the words that he wasn't saying out loud. She raised her head just slightly to kiss him, their lips meeting halfway between the point of light that shone on them.

"You didn't-"

"All that matters is you did," he said and she felt his lips against her breast, whispering something she can't quite hear over the water, but she laughed all the same.

"Twice," she smiled and their lips met again briefly, but she used it to her advantage and kneeled before him. She was content too, but not quite. "You deserve to get there too."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Just another thrilling chapter below :) I hope you all enjoy even if its a little bit of an emotional minefield haha xx Mariah**

**Jim — 42**   
**Melinda — 42**   
**Andrea — 42**   
**Rick — 40**   
**Eli — 32**   
**LeTrai— 30**   
**Adam — 18**   
**Katie — 18**   
**Ned — 18**   
**Toby — 17**   
**Jasper — 17**   
**Murphy — 16**   
**Hannah — 15**   
**Mackenzie — 15**

* * *

After Katie and Ned had redressed, they went back to look through the rest of the half furnished bedrooms by the time the group started to head their way. She had given him a look that he only chuckled at, one that meant _see I told you they would follow us eventually_ , but it was cute in a way that could never bother him.

"Find anything else?" Her mother had asked and Ned had stayed silent for the reason he usually did.

He wanted to give Katie every chance she had to reconnect with Melinda. It was one he was waiting for once his own mother came to the ground. Her nervous eyes shifted to his and she offered him the smallest of smiles.

He doesn't talk much during the conversation, or really pay all that much attention to what they were saying, instead, he spent much of the conversation watching them mirror each other. After a few moments, he pulled her away from them and walked over to find his own sister to reconnect with her and to hopefully ease over some things to her about who Katie was to him.

The wasn't far behind and was fiddling with an old radio. Of course, she was. Although he truly didn't know what she could be doing with it. "Hey, whatcha doing sis?" He asked.

"Trying to see if I can get these to work. It would be best to establish communication in case we get separated," Mackenzie said, not once lifting her eyes from whatever she was doing with two wires and a small tool in her hand. "Did you find anything?"

"A shower room, which was really nice. It was cold at first but the water heater eventually kicked in. There were a few rooms with some stripped-down beds, but not all of them and that's about it."

"That's it, huh?" Mackenzie laughed, still fiddling with the radio until she glanced up at him long enough to roll her eyes and look back down. "Okay."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" He asked.

He supposed even after all the time being separated Mackenzie was the same sassy little sister who would bug him, but he loved it. He'd missed it.

"Whatever you want it to, big brother," she said to tease him.

"Just promise me you'll give Katie a fair shot. Anything you've heard on the Ark is probably tainted information," he said, trying to play it all subtly until Mackenzie stopped what she was doing to look up at him.

"Why would I need to give her a fair shot? I thought you were… what was it?"

"Just friends," he muttered. "But it's more than that Mack. Let's be serious now, okay?"

"Just friends," she said, laughing at him as she tweaked her voice at the end to mock Katie. "Why so serious now? We've never been serious or well, you never have."

He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Do I really need to spell it out for you? She's my girlfriend, Mackenzie and I care about her."

Her sister rolled her eyes. "I just look out for you and say that you should really watch out for yourself in the coming months. She might want to be with you right now when no one has followed, but the second her daddy follows Ned you know she will likely flock to him along with her mother, and where does that leave you?" Mackenzie explained quickly, patting him on the shoulder before turning back to tinkering on the radio. "Just think about it because I don't want you to get hurt."

"She isn't like that," he replied, trying not to let any of that sink in too deeply.

"If you say so, brother," Mackenzie shrugged. "I'll give her a fair shot. I promise."

He sighed, nodding. That's all he wanted.

* * *

On their way back to camp that night, Katie walked beside Ned and despite everything he did, his sister's words had been on his mind. Would she leave him once things changed? Once her father came to the ground?

He noticed she was watching him and smiled at her as his eyesight panned the surrounding area just to be safe, but when his eyes made their way back to glance at her she was still watching him.

"What's the matter, Princess?" He asked, glancing in another direction when he heard a twig snap only to see his sister who was trailing behind them with Melinda.

When his head turned forward again he saw Josh, who was leading them and keeping an eye out for anything in particular because he had the gun.

"Nothing. Just observing you and I can see that something is on your mind," Katie answered, resituating her pack on her shoulders from where it pressed down heavily. "Do you want to talk about whatever it might be?"

He shrugged. "I told my sister about us," he told her simply.

"Oh," she said. "And?"

He pondered on what he exactly wanted to say, but wasn't quite sure. Should he tell her the truth? "She only said… a few things," he sighed. "You know, as sisters do when it comes to these things."

She hummed, looking forward. "I guess, but I wouldn't say that exactly. I don't have any siblings." She replied.

"I only ever had my sister, but she has been my responsibility for most of my life." He replied sadly. "As much as I love her it would've been easier on both of us if it had been different. Though it probably wouldn't have been the same for you."

"Who knows," she replied with a shrug and continued on. "Is that all that's on your mind then? Nothing else?"

He didn't answer, glancing around them and noticing both Mackenzie and Melinda were trying to act subtly about listening in on what they were saying from where they were following a few yards behind.

"Follow me," he said, leading her off alone and separate from the group.

"Where are we going?" She asked, reluctantly following him as she took the hand he held out to her. "Ned, what's wrong? You had that look on your face."

He was confused by what she had said, but still led her through the forest a bit more before slowing down and turning to her. "I just wanted us to have some privacy again, but what look are you talking about?"

She laughed, shaking her head. "That one you have on your face right now," she teased him. "Your serious face. What's wrong?"

Certainly, that was the truth, he thought and sighed. "Nothing is wrong, but Katie I do want to be serious with you. Do you want—"

She interrupted him. "Ned, you know what I want," she said, flatly. "I thought I've made that very clear to you. Now, on the other hand, I have given you time to tell me how you feel despite all that has happened between us."

He stood there, arms cross, listening to it all. He didn't have any rebuttal other than what his sister had told him and that wasn't anything he should take seriously right? Katie had proved her feelings to him more than enough.

"Katie, I—"

"I told you from the beginning that I wanted to hope you could be that person for me and you agreed. Is that still how you feel?" She asked.

"Of course it is," he told her, stepping closer to her. "It's way more than just hoping Katie and you know that. I just worry about when your dad comes down and what happens then? When life begins to change will we still be the same?"

She looked away from him, trying to pull away but he was too close and stopped her, but let go when he saw the look she gave him.

Katie had started to walk away but after three steps turned back around. "Is that truly what you think of me? As some spoiled princess who's fucking you because it's easy and that I'll throw you away when life starts to get hard? Or is that what your sister thinks?" She asked.

He knew he had hit a cord when she hadn't answered him at first, but he hadn't expected that outburst from her. Though he certainly deserved it.

"Katie, it's not that simple," he argued, running his hands through his hair as he began to overthink and freak out.

"I think it's very simple, Ned. I told you that I care about you and we have shared more than enough of each other for you to know the affection that I hold for you." She confessed to him, getting frustrated with him and even herself a little. "Do I really need to spell it out for you any more than that?"

She began to turn away in the heat of the moment, walking through the brush as she groaned. This was exactly what he had wanted to avoid, but it was everything he had wanted to hear.

What was he doing? Was he going to ruin it all? God damnit he loved her and he couldn't let her just walk away.

That was all that plagued his mind, but it was his specialty to hurt girls and drive them away and there Katie was, walking away after everything he had done.

"Wait," he said, running after her, but she didn't. "Katie, wait…"

When he noticed what he thought to be a net trap, he darted forward and grabbed hold of her arm. He quickly saw that there was a rope system rigged in the trees and a net covered by some leaves attached that she hadn't seen, but he had a keen eye for that sort of thing his whole life. He always saw things others didn't usually pay attention to.

Before Katie could yank her arm free in utter frustration, he pulled her back and away from the net. He could tell she was about to yell at him, her eyes shooting daggers at him, but he covered her mouth and she looked at him like she was going to bite his finger off for doing it.

"There is a trap that you were going to step into," he told her quietly, glancing up into the trees. "And look." There was a scattered group of people high up in trees. "Grounders. We need to be quiet."

She quickly realized what he had pointed out to her, nodding, and he moved his hand away from her mouth as they crouched down near a tree. "What are we going to do?" She asked next.

"We should try to make it back to the group and warn the others before something bad happens, but they haven't attacked yet. They must be waiting for something," he thought out loud to her as he exclaimed things around them, trying to count how many people he saw in the trees. "I count six of them up there and there may be more on the forest floor that we can't see."

She nodded, her arm closest to him looping around his as he slowly started to stand and led her back the way they had walked before. For a time they weaved through trees strategically. Only there wasn't much they could do when all of a sudden four better hid companions of the grounders in the trees came out from the bushes, surrounding them.

"Ned," Katie said softly, tightening her grip on him and holding him closer as though he was a shield of some sort. "I don't think that's a plausible situation anymore."

"It's okay," he said, knowing at the same time that there was nothing he could do to stop the four men who were near twice his size, from doing anything. "I've got you."

They were fucked.

* * *

"Everything's going to be fine Melinda, don't worry…"

The sigh that accompanied the words doesn't actually give her the utmost confidence however, and Melinda merely raised an eyebrow at the man beside her to reflect this train of thought. Josh mirrored the gesture on his own face before continuing.

"You honestly don't trust that I'll be able to teach you this properly?" He waved vaguely towards the rudimentary range of supplies to build a fire in front of them, the quiet echoes of the forest the only other sounds the two of them can hear other than Mackenzie's tinkering of the radios.

"Oh, I trust you implicitly Josh, but I'm worried about my daughter," she replied, leaning slightly on the tree stump behind her as she took in him and the surrounding area. "I just don't understand why she and Ned haven't…" She trailed off when she saw the look on his face. "What?"

He sighed again, and Melinda wondered how long he's had this melodramatic streak in relation to her - probably longer than she realized…

"I think you know why they aren't back yet," he started, laughing slightly and suddenly running a hand through his hair, an air of frustration in his voice, "but if they aren't back soon we can go out looking."

She knew he cared and that this was his roundabout way of saying that. "Fine. I can agree to that," she said, looking back down at the firewood. "Now teach me how to do this so I can feel more useful."

"You will feel more useful when we need a doctor, but I am thankful we don't yet." He pointed out, smiling slightly. "And until Katie and Ned come back we don't exactly know where the dropship landed or how far their camp is from here."

"Ned said it was maybe fifteen miles. It took them half the day to get here," Mackenzie spoke up, looking up from what she was doing beside her and tossing a radio over to Josh. "Try that one out for me, will you?"

"How do you know about where the camp is?" He asked the girl, pressing a button on the radio. "Testing."

Josh's voice came through on the other end and the teen grinned happily. "My brother told me offhandedly earlier and it looks like we have two working radios now too. I can see if there is anything else lying around to make more, but that will take more time," Mackenzie answered, happy with her own achievement, just as she was for her.

"You are truly amazing, you know that?" She said, proud of her as she nudged her side.

"It's just my brain that's amazing, but thank you," Mackenzie replied. "Ned also told me that he and Katie were stargazing or something when they saw us land because it was still dark, but it had been the first watch in the early hours. What time did they get here?"

"Sometime around midday and we left for the depot not long after," he said, looking up at where the sun was now hardly peeking behind the far mountains in the Northeast. "The sun is just now setting and Katie and Ned should be back soon, but we should stay here tonight before making the trek to the hundred's camp. It's the safest option because we are running out of daylight."

"I agree, but it would make me feel easier if we could go take a look for them now. I just have a bad feeling," Melinda sighed. "It's been a bit long for just fooling around in the woods."

Josh nodded, picking up some of the kindling. "I still think they are fine, but let's get this fire started. That way Mackenzie can make sure it stays lit and wait here in case Ned or Katie come back before us. She can radio us if they do." He said, showing her how to make a good base of kindling before adding any twigs or logs of wood they found. "Plus we can hunt while we look for them for our dinner too."

She knew deep down that he was right; Katie and Ned were probably fine. Although she dreaded to think what could have happened if they were just fooling around in the woods somewhere.

Melinda shook her head to rid herself of the worrying thoughts and focused on the mission before her. She needed to learn how to make fire.


	17. Chapter 17

"This is a bad idea," Josh warned her.

"I don't care." She told him flatly, "This is my decision and Katie is my responsibility. She is my daughter and I intend to make sure she is safe."

She could tell he was wondering if there's any point in arguing with her. Telling her that she's being stupid and it was nearly dark, that it's dangerous, that they can't lose her, they need her and her skills. That it's almost selfish of her.

"You are not a soldier, Melinda." He tried to argue with her. "I know you are worried about Katie's wellbeing, but we could get lost trying to find her and Ned. It's best we just stay put until morning if we can't find anything in the immediate area."

She rounded on him, ready to snap at him and tell him that unless martial law takes control of this camp over her dead body he would be able to stop her from at least looking for her daughter tonight, but something about Josh's tone and something in his eyes when she faced him made her pause and lead him there.

All she wanted was to make sure Katie was safe again. And she accepted that there were risks involved with looking for her and Ned. She ducked inside the tent to gather what she needed for the trip. She heard him audibly sigh as she slipped into the tent, quickly packed a bag and came back out.

"Let's go," she said. "I don't want to hear another word about it."

Trying to reassure herself that she's made the right decision, anticipation, and adrenaline and anxiety flooding her body all at once. She had taken several deep breaths, trying to calm herself and avoid getting her hopes up.

But she can't.

This was Katie. Her little girl.

She could feel there was something wrong deep within her gut and even though she'd always been a woman of science, of facts and logic. After years of doing the job that she did, it had also taught her to trust herself and her gut.

And right now her gut was telling her that her daughter and Ned were in trouble. It had sunk into her bones; into her very soul, and from the second they hadn't caught up with them after a few miles, but Josh had convinced her to keep going instead of looping back around then.

Jim would never forgive her if she had their daughter in her grasp and let her get hurt now. She knew at the same time he wouldn't truly blame her and that was only her doubt and own guilt seeping through.

"I'm coming..." She whispered the words under her breath, a prayer from her; a promise to her daughter and even the boy she was with.

She felt a hand on her arm, gentle but firm at the same time. Josh was ready to head out and Mackenzie had given her a quick hug before their departure. "Stay close," he said quietly.

She nodded her agreement once more and with her by his side they walked out of camp and into the thick forest around them.

He had insisted to her that this forest would keep them safe. That the trees would offer them protection and shelter them, but she had remembered Katie saying something to her about the grounders using the height of trees to help them attack from the air.

Unease crept through her at every opportunity and Melinda tensed whenever the wind stirred the branches of the trees around them. Oppressive statues, guardians of secrets that they had no right to know.

Josh had felt it too. Though he reassured her whenever she jumped at the sounds that surrounded them. He was tense and ready. For what she had no idea. But she was glad that she was with someone she was familiar with and close to and not just some random stranger.

After what seemed like a lifetime, he called for them to stop and rest for a few minutes. He watched as she slumped down against a tree gratefully. He handed her a water bottle as he sank down beside her, and for a while things were quiet.

The faint sunset managed to filter through the trees around them. And she dared to let himself relax for a moment and savor the moment. He moved them on again just as she felt like she'd begun to catch her breath back.

They'd been walking for a little while when he said quietly, "How are you holding up? Today must've been a lot and now with Katie running off..."

She blinked up at him in surprise, "What do you mean? You think she ran off?" She asked, puzzled.

"I was just throwing the idea out there, but seeing her again must've brought a lot of emotions up." He said, trying to move on from that. "Especially any pent up ones."

She considered that for a moment wondering what else he'd picked up on without her registering. She was not sure how to answer him. So much of their time on the Ark was spent in passing or the times he'd come over to share her and Jim's dinner table. A few of those times even included Katie before her arrest.

"It did," she answered carefully, trying to play it off. "Her conversation with Jim did as well, but we were working through it. I just want to find her." She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself, her voice shaking as she spoke again. "She's my only child and risked everything for me, just to get thrown down here alone by me and her father."

He offered her a hand to help her down a steep bank. "That must be a lot." He commented offhandedly again, trying to be nice.

She took his hand and then continued, "So I guess I should say that I'm scared. I was scared that coming down here I would find her dead, but I didn't. Then I was scared she would never forgive me, but she was giving me a chance and now she might be gone again."

There were tears in her eyes, she realized, too late, and she tried to wipe them away before he saw and made any type of thing out of it. But he'd already fished a handkerchief from his pocket for her. She tugged it from his grasp and dabbed at her eyes, avoiding him.

"I'm sorry." She muttered awkwardly, not meeting his gaze. "As you said, it's been an emotional day." She paused for a moment, letting herself get lost in memories for a second. She took several deep breaths before she whispered, "I would do anything to just see her again. To know that she's okay and I was overreacting. Anything. Anything just to see her again."

"It's alright." He said, his tone surprisingly soft.

It's not a side that she'd ever seen of him. He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. She nodded in thanks. Grateful for the contact. It had been too long. Too long since she'd had anyone reach out to her like that during emotional turmoil that wasn't her husband.

"We have to find them," she breathed, her hands curling into fists, her nails biting into her palm, sending sharp pulses of pain through her nerves as though to ground her through all of this, "I have to."

"You will," was all he said.

"How did you know?" She asked quietly, glancing up at him.

"You're too stubborn to ever not get what you want. I've learned that by now, Melinda." He told her, smiling sadly at her.

"No, I just… how did you know? That, that everything was bothering me, that… that I needed someone to talk to." Melinda said, sighing again.

She mostly hadn't wanted to think about half of what she'd been bottling up recently until it had all come spilling out of her a few moments ago.

He shrugged. "I guess I just paid attention all those times you invited me over for dinner," Josh said simply and moved away from her, deciding to give her a little space and time to herself as he scoped out the land in front of them.

She sighed inwardly. Right now, the greatest danger to him wasn't some unseen attack from out of sight; it's himself. She rummaged in her pack for a minute then walked up to hand him an energy bar, "Eat." She commanded firmly, thrusting it at him.

"I'm fine, mom." He murmured, jokingly.

She stood in front of him, cutting him off and placing her hand flatly on her chest and forcing him to stop in place with her. "I don't care if I am acting like your mother. You need to eat." She said, sternly, "You're not fine, Josh."

He was just as far away from being fine as she was. He was gaunt and pale and distant. More so than usual. "You don't, you can't understand, Melinda." He breathed, shaking his head and lowering his gaze, his quiet tone driving her crazy. "We didn't live the same life on the Ark. Being down here is different for me and I am sorry about your daughter, but being down here is different for me."

He took the energy bar to please her, but it didn't work completely in his favor. "What do you mean I don't understand?" She asked, taking a step forward.

"You don't understand how it feels," he answered. "I wish I had a family to worry about. My parents were dead before I could walk and my adopted parents weren't any better." He moved around her so he could avoid her altogether. "You have no idea, Melinda."

She followed him, only getting more upset the further they went without any sign of Katie or Ned. On top of that, Josh was being so inconsiderate. While she hadn't had the exact same traumas in her childhood, her time growing up hadn't been any easier.

"I know what it's like to feel alone," she tried to explain after a bit. "My grandmother raised me after my mother died when I was little, and then she died too. I never knew my father, but that never mattered to me. I had to get myself through life just like you did, so I understand, Josh." She said and felt her tears sting at her eyes, but she didn't wipe them away. Her own demons have been dragged to the surface now, and there's no quieting any of them. "My daughter's fate has been hanging in the balance for months because of a decision that she made to save me. So don't tell me that I don't understand."

When she moved to walk past him, he moved quickly, placing a hand on her shoulder and keeping her in place, his eyes scanning their surroundings. "Stay back."

"Josh." She muttered, irritated by his sudden disregard, not having heard anything out of the ordinary.

He raised a hand to make her stop and she moved behind him, realizing that something's wrong. "Stay behind me." He said again, tensely, as he walked forward into a clearing.

Melinda took a quick glance around them too, not seeing anyone following them from what she could tell, but followed behind him out of precaution.

The cleaning was unusual, a lot of brush stopped down from footprints and in the middle, some grass and flowers. There was even some blood and remnants of a smashed bracelet. The same one Ned had still had on his wrist the last time they saw him. That wasn't good.

* * *

Jim Clancy had always been a busy man. Before he was Chancellor, he had been a history teacher, a dad, and a supportive husband to his very busy surgeon wife. He had run for a representation spot on a drunken whim and won nearly as surprising, and then ran for Chancellor a couple of years after that.

Now, as Chancellor, he was planning to bring every Ark citizen to the ground over the course of a week, in less than fifty hours.

He had been in the middle of looking at the exodus ship plans when he heard the speaker on his computer burst into life with static.

It was the same kind that came from the radio to Earth. "Jim, are you there?" Melinda's voice asked when it came through a moment later.

His day had been stressful and he had been hoping to hear from his wife today, so lingering around his computer had been easy to fit into his schedule. Hearing her voice had cleared his mind immediately and he pulled the microphone in front of him close

"It's good to hear your voice, Mel." He said, wishing he was there with her now. "You have no idea the day I've had…"

He heard her sigh first. That couldn't be good, he thought and leaned back into his chair to brace himself somewhat for whatever his wife may tell him.

"I'm sorry to hear that, honey, but I'm not going to make it any better. I have bad news." She said quickly and his heart quickly skipped a beat.

That could mean any number of things down on the ground. What was she going to tell him? "What kind of bad news?" He asked, rubbing his temple. "Is Katie still with you?"

"The bad news is about her," she replied. "We lost track of her. Josh and I aren't sure exactly what to think."

Now he was even more confused. "What do you mean you lost track of our daughter?" He muttered, annoyed, and trying to puzzle this information together but he didn't know enough to think anything through.

"She and a boy had walked off together, talking and wanting some obvious privacy. Ned Banks is his name. They haven't returned and when Josh and I went to look for them we didn't find anything. We only found Ned's bracelet and even some blood." She explained, trying to stay calm by the way her voice was shaking even through the static of the radio. "I'm so worried about her, Jim. I saw her for a few hours and now she's gone again… this is all my fault. I should've never let her out of my sight."

He hated himself for thinking the same thing. None of this was Melinda's fault. Not even a little bit. Part of him wanted to blame the boy, Ned Banks, who he hardly knew besides his obvious crime that was often still talked about.

That was only the overprotective father in him. He knew his daughter was most likely romantically interested in him from the way he'd been brought up in conversation so far, and that was her choice, but it worried him as it would any father.

The forever remembered spacewalker was seducing his daughter and had unknowingly and stupidly put her in danger.

"It's not your fault, Mel," he tried to soothe her, though he could hear her tears and knew that it wasn't doing much. He felt helpless. "You'll find her. If not, she'll find you again. Katie is a tough cookie. I mean, look at her mother."

She had laughed with him, her tears subsiding enough to the point where he only heard her sniffle occasionally. "Yeah, she is." She finally said. "I can't wait for you to see her again. You wouldn't believe how grown up she looks… she's really taken charge and control of everything the best she can to ensure people have stayed alive. And they have, for the most part. She has a lot weighing on her."

He took all of this in the best he could. That was the last thing he had ever wanted for Katie, but it had been inevitable when sending her to the ground unprotected and pretty much blind. Even if it had been to save her life in the process.

"Just about two days, Mel, and then I will be on the ground with you. Final plans are being put into action for Project Exodus," he said, glancing back over the paperwork that filled his desk. "The final touches are being put on the first Dropship and then we will begin safety testing."

She didn't reply for some time, and he almost thought the signal had been disrupted until she spoke again. "Jim, have you gotten any sleep in the last two days?" She asked. "Before I left, you had hardly gotten any sleep… I can't imagine—"

He cut her off, despite the fact that she was completely right. He had hardly gotten six hours of sleep in the last two days combined. "I'm fine, Melinda. Don't worry about me. I will be able to rest once I am on the ground and both you and our daughter are in my arms again, okay?"

"Okay," she said. "But Jim, don't tell me not to worry about you. That's all I do. Worry about you, and Katie, and saving any of my patient's lives'."

He smiled, wanting to hug her now more than ever before. "You are so pure of heart, Melinda Gordon. It's why I fell in love with you when I first laid my eyes on you."

She laughed again, joined by him soon after. "The first time?" She asked like she did every time.

"Of course. You were beautiful, even then." He smiled, thinking of how jelly stained her cheeks when she had smiled at him that first time at lunch in Kindergarten. "You were my first real friend."

Instead of responding with her usual quip about Andrea coming along soon after, she sniffled. "I miss you so much, Jim. Today has been the best and worst in every way possible." Melinda's voice cracked as she finished what she had to say, her crying the only thing he heard after, and he had to close his eyes when they began to burn from the tears that filled his own. "I wish you were here. I could use one of your hugs right about now."

"I would never let you go if I could hug you right now," he said, wiping away falling tears. "I love you so much." He knew he had to keep positive for her sake now as she had before for him when all signs pointed to Katie being dead. "But listen here, I know in my heart you will find Katie. Remember what you said before about how you knew she was alive? That's what I feel right now."

She was quiet for a few minutes before she sniffled on the other end and he knew she was still there. "Oh how the tables have turned," she joked, laughing sadly. "I hope so, Jim. We will look again in the morning, but I don't know if I will even be able to sleep tonight."

He smiled, thinking of one way that always made her fall right to sleep, and God, he wished he was there with his wife to spread her legs, make her come, and help her sleep well tonight. "I have an idea," he hummed in pleasure at just the idea of doing this through the radio, but her immediate giggle proved she knew what he was hatching.

"Jim Clancy, we can't," she answered quickly, giggling.

"I think we can do whatever we want, Mel," he teased her. "Do you remember that night after your first surgery? I stayed up until you got off and five am. I would've thought you would want to go right to bed, but no… you were wide awake."

Melinda definitely remembered how she had undressed for and rode Jim that night, slowly and deliberately, drawing out their usual time together a bit as she told him about her crazy night shift and emergency surgery she performed as a resident.

"I suppose I was running on caffeine and adrenaline," she replied, humming afterward. "Since we are playing remember when I have one…"

He smiled. "What is it?" He asked.

"That night… one our first nights," she whispered to him as though she didn't want anyone to hear that may be around her. "When we were still just friends… I never knew why my grandmother trusted us alone in a room together like that overnight."

He would remember every night he had shared with her intimately for as long as he could. "Which night, Melinda?" He teased her in reply, licking his lip. "I remember them all."

She laughed again. "All of them," she agreed with him, sighing on the other end. "How did I not know how much I felt for you then… how could you let me treat you like that?"

"I loved you so deeply even then Melinda that I was okay with anything as long as you paid attention to me and were happy," he said, sighing. "I still feel that way deep down."

"Oh, Jim… you aren't that simple anymore, trust me," she confessed. "And as much as I love and miss every inch of you it wouldn't be right, and I'm pretty sure both Josh and Mack can hear this from out by the fire anyway. So we should keep this PG."

He could imagine the same fight in Medbay about six months before. Only instead of someone hearing them, it was something about her patients needing her.

Up until he seduced her into sneaking into the nearest supply closet. She hadn't shut him down that night when he wanted to tear her scrubs off and fuck her senseless.

He chuckled, "Fine," then the door to his office opened and revealed Rick. "Hold on, Mel… is this important? Or can it wait?"

"Trust me, you need to hear this, sir," Rick said, though he doubted the validity of whatever that man had to say anymore.

"I should try to get some rest anyhow and let my mind reset after today's rollercoaster," Melinda replied on cue. "I love you, Jim. Just know I'll be thinking about what we talked about… and all of those first nights. We can relive that conversation when you arrive on the ground… hmm?"

He smiled, thinking about being with her again, knowing she was teasing him in front of Rick as all that much better, and not only just that but the idea of making love to his wife on Earth. On the ground, truly was one thing cross off his list.

"I love you and I will be thinking of them too," he said smugly. "Stay safe, Melinda." He disconnected the microphone, just in case, and sighed. "What do you want, Rick? This better be good."

The man walked over, pulling out a tablet as he sat in the chair in front of his desk. "We need to talk," Rick said, showing him multiple videos of footage from the Ark stations where citizens were milling about angrily. Some were being destructive even. "Fires and riots have broken out in several workstations. The people are restless. Rumors have begun to spread ever since Melinda's obvious departure."

"I see," he said, flipping through different videos, sighing. "It seems to be mostly workers and I can understand why. It's most of their kids down on the ground."

"Things are going to get ugly fast, Jim," Rick said. "I suppose we do something about it. Maybe offer them a spot on the first drop ship to be cautious?"

"Possibly," he muttered.

"That's what I would do in your position," Rick answered, leaning back in his chair.

Jim scoffed, rolling his eyes. That's why he was here. "You're not in my position, Rick. My people voted for me, remember?" He said, meeting his gaze as he tossed his tablet towards him. "You lost the last election and I know that you're still coming to terms with it, but it's been three years, and I've had this job for the last twelve. I know what I'm doing."

"I'm only warning you that you need to get ahead of any rumors and come clean," Rick replied, shaking his head. "As much as I hate it we've come to a point where the Ark citizens deserve to know what has happened already and what is to come."

"I know that," he answered, raising his voice. "Don't you think I have that planned out? I am not an idiot, Rick. Project Exodus is activated and in the protocol, there are steps in place for how to tell the population. I am the Chancellor, remember?"

The Commander chuckled heartily at that. "Congratulations, Chancellor. You will forever be remembered as the man who brought us back to the ground," Rick said, although there was no appreciation or happiness in the expression on his face.

"You know I am not at liberty to talk to you about that," he said, sighing. "I shouldn't have even brought it up. It is for the Chancellor's eyes only."

"That's true and I know we've always had our differences, but I'm here as an ally." Rick was possibly even trying to convince himself of that lie, but he wasn't buying it not one bit. "The decisions that you now must make implementing Project Exodus have to be unimaginably difficult to make alone. At least, from what I can imagine. The Ark needs unity now more than ever, Jim."

"What do you want, Rick?" He asked, trying to concentrate on any idea that might pop into his mind before he would have to assume that the man before him was telling the truth. "Is there something else you have to say?"

Rick was shocked. "Is that how you think of me now?"

"I don't think about you, really," he said, shrugging.

Rick laughed. "Now that's a lie," the commander said. "We both know you've never come to terms that I slithered my way into Melinda's bed before you did."

He should have seen that coming and bit his tongue before he could say anything he would regret the next day. Instead, Jim stood and being a good six inches taller than the man, he walked over to stand chest to chest with him.

"Say it again, Rick," he said, his jaw tightly clenched as he spoke. "I am not the same kid I was when we were in grade school. I won't stand here and listen to you disrespect my wife because I can't stand up to you."

Rick was a smug and hot-headed guy. He always had been and had never known quite when to shut up, even when he was warned. "Does she still come like a mewling kitten? Whispering your name in your ear?" The man teased, not even stopping there. "Or how about…"

Jim didn't let him finish before he had tackled the man to the grown and had thrown the first punch. No matter how hard he tried to be the bigger man, he had needed to have that image burned out of his brain. Rick Payne screwing his wife. It burned a fire inside him even though he had known about it for years.

Melinda had been a free woman and she had always been his best friend, but Rick… had stolen his chance. He had felt everything surging through him telling him to hit him again and again, but he released his grip on him and shoved him away, leaning against the wall nearest to him.

"I was her first, Clancy." Rick spat at him from where he laid trying to catch his breath from being knocked to the floor with such force. "You can never know what that was like."

None of that had mattered to Jim like he had told Melinda today. All he had ever wanted was to just be with her. To spend time with her and to be in her intimate embrace, kissing her, was all he wanted at fifteen. Even if she dated Rick first, none of that mattered.

"I never cared about any of that. She married me, you bastard, but Melinda isn't some item to be fighting over." He spat back at him, shoving him back on the ground, trying to control his anger as he grabbed hold of him by the collar again, holding him up, but not hitting him even when the man flinched. "This was for her honor and you never deserved her Rick. Even back then when there was still a sliver of good in you there was always something missing."

"Says you," Rick muttered, trying to push him off but he was unsuccessful. "I cherished her. We were good together."

"You belittled her every chance you got. You made her seem less than and like her grandmother's death didn't matter because, at least, there would be more space and air for the rest of us," he explained, shaking his head as he got up from their scuffle on the floor. He had to go to medbay to get his hand looked at. It felt like he had probably jammed or fractured something and Melinda was going to kill him when she found out it was because of Rick. "She only let you believe the reason she broke up with you was because of graduation and not your own actions. God, you are such a blind fool. You always have been."

"And you think Melinda married you for any reason other than the fact that you got her pregnant with Katie?" Rick counter, mostly because he had no energy to jab him with anything other than words.

This time, instead of punching him, Jim let go of his hold of him with a slight shove, letting him fall back on the floor. "Don't speak about my daughter like she wasn't wanted," he muttered. "We might not have planned her, but she was loved from the beginning."

Rick coughed as he rolled onto his side, blood splattering on the floor along with his saliva. "Come on, keep going. You only got one good punch, Clancy. We both know you want to." The man chuckled, glancing up at him as he tried to sit up on his own.

"That's the big difference between you and me, Rick. I don't kill helpless, innocent people for my own benefit," he said, helping him to his feet with his good hand and out of the room as he went toward Medbay.


	18. Chapter 18

Jim had been observing his people milling about in the mess hall of the Ark for most of the morning. Ever since Project Exodus had gone through and now all two thousand citizens knew they would soon be going to the ground, this year's Unity Day festivities were even more exciting.

It would be the last year it was celebrated on the Ark. Next year, they would all be on the ground. There were still lots of questions and rumors, amongst other things roaming in the air.

He had done his best to soothe anyone's worries, at least those who spoke to him. Most just glared and kept their distance as always, not knowing the real hard decisions he has had to make that have benefited them so much in the past.

"This is an extraordinary Unity Day, is it not?" Rick said as he approached him out of the blue. His face was healing and Jim was surprised to see him up and walking, but it had been a few days and the Exodus ship would be launching tonight. "I hope there are no hard feelings about everything that has happened between us."

It was hard for him not to think Rick was involved somehow with all of this conflict for how common he liked to make sure he could still smooth things over, even after all this time, but he wasn't naive enough to believe a word the man said.

He had to keep up an image though and to be positive, brushing his comment off with a fake smile. "No hard feelings at all today, Rick," he muttered with a slight head nod.

"That's right. You will be able to see your family soon," Rick replied as he walked away, milling about in the crowd quickly.

Jim could only shrug it off. Melinda was as safe as she could be. He knew that. Josh would protect her if she couldn't protect herself. However, there was still no update about Katie or the boy she was with.

Ned Banks.

He had tried to learn everything he could about the boy the moment Melinda first mentioned him. The spacewalker who was most-likely schmoozing his daughter on the ground. He had been born to two workers on station eight. His father was dead, but Ned had a mother and sister still alive.

Mackenzie had popped up in his search, the same one that Melinda had brought to the ground with her and Josh. Ned's little sister.

He realized then how crazy life truly was. How some coincidences might not be entirely just that. That's what his mother had always said to him, but he had never paid mind to it much until now. He had decided then that until he knew more there wasn't anything he could.

Until Jim was on the ground and met the boy, knowing Katie was safe again when he held both her and Melinda in his arms again, there wasn't a damn thing he could do.

* * *

When Melinda woke up in a sweat and gasping, she knew she hadn't slept well and her thoughts were still plagued with worry. She sat up in her sleeping bag, rubbing her eyes and waking up for a moment before she wandered out of her tent.

Josh and Mackenzie seemed to still be sleeping, both of their tents pitched across from hers and still closed. The fire was just warm and glowing embers, and she knew she should build one again, but she walked over to the edge of the water towards the nearby trees. Katie and Ned were still on her mind.

She found a quiet spot that she made sure was still in sight of the camp and settled her back against a tree. She leaned her head back and stared up into the sky, taking in the beauty of the stars from a new perspective even in the daylight.

Jim was up there somewhere on his own without her, she realized, in space trying to prepare his people with the hard task of re-settling on Earth. She wondered what he was doing, how he was spending his last hours on the Ark. He would soon be coming down either later today or sometime tomorrow, she wasn't exactly sure at the time of their departure.

Her thoughts shifted, inevitably, to Katie, and what could have happened to her and Ned in the last day and a half. It may have even been longer at this point, but Melinda decided she didn't want to think about it.

A cough broke her out of her reverie and she instinctively knew who her companion was without looking up. "Morning," she said simply, continuing to gaze up at the night sky as Josh settled beside her.

"Good morning," he answered and she watched out of the corner of her eye as he offered her something in his hand. She turned to face him for the first time that day and smiled, taking what appeared to be a steaming mug. "You shouldn't be out here alone, Melinda, especially considering Katie and Ned are pretty much missing at this point."

There was a trace of concern in his voice and she wasn't sure at this point if that made her feel better or worse. "I just needed some time to process and think it all through, but thank you." She replied, not acknowledging that he was right about being alone as she accepted the drink. That was her decision to make. "What is it?"

"It's supposed to be coffee, but judging by the look and smell of the grounds it is not going to be the best cup you've ever had." He sighed somewhat melodramatic he settled down next to her, mimicking her pose against the tree. "Still, it's hot and I think we all need a little bit of caffeine and warmth after what we've been through today."

"You keep bringing me things to drink, Josh," she commented suddenly. "You'd better be careful or I might get the impression you care about me like a friend."

The man, rather frustratingly, refused to rise to the bait. "Well, of course, you are my friend, Melinda," he admitted, fighting back a chuckle and a small smile gracing his lips, "and if I don't look after you, who will? I can't just have the Chancellor's wife pass out because she forgets to drink anything. Jim would never forgive me. Now drink up, you look freezing."

Melinda hadn't realized until then how cold she had become, wrapping her hands around the mug and watching as the steam drifted away into the morning dawn. She took a sip and frowned as Josh's assessment was right about the 'coffee'.

It was vile, and tasted nothing like the pot she remembered her husband brewing every morning, but she immediately felt a little warmer all the same. Then she returned to her previous position, looking up into the sky and thinking about Jim again.

She and Josh were silent for a few minutes before he spoke, "He's a good man. Your husband." He said, his voice quiet.

"I know," she agreed, pausing before she continued, her own voice as soft as his own had been. "So are you."

He scoffed slightly at that and raised an eyebrow at her before he focused his gaze on the ground in front of him. "I am hardly a good man, Melinda. Under Commander Payne's orders on the Ark, there was a lot of… pushback from my colleagues. There were a lot of the things I did to make my stand in the Guard…"

She stopped him by turning to face him, her hand on his chest and shaking her head. "You are a good man, Josh, and I am sorry that you were put through that from Rick." She tried to tell him, but he shook his head all the same. "Listen, one day you will find someone who will help you through all of that."

The man sighed. "Will I? It's hard to find an openly gay man on the Ark beside myself," Josh confessed, shrugging. "But maybe. I might. One day."

"You will," she said and nudged him slightly, trying to win a smile. "Oh, come on. Be positive at least."

"I'd like to think I would have a chance," he replied gruffly, his voice almost betraying the way he truly felt.

Josh stopped, unsure of what else to say and Melinda found she didn't know how to respond either, so she squeezed his hand in support as they sat together. Time lapsed during their comfortable silence, the two of them watching the Ark satellite trace a path slowly across the sky.

"You can't change your past," she offered eventually when it came to her mind, finishing off her coffee than with one last drink. "You can only move forward."

He turned to look at her. "You're right," he replied.

"We need to find the children too," she sighed. "Katie and Ned couldn't have just disappeared. We need to discover what happened and how the grounders were involved."

"I agree," he said determinedly, squeezing her hand again. "And we'll find them, Melinda. I'm sure of it."

"How can you be sure?" She asked. "Even I can't keep that lingering thought about them being dead in the back of my mind."

"I have faith," he said simply, trying to reassure her. "I have faith that she's alive and that she's as strong as her mother when it comes to surviving almost impossible situations she is put in. Katie is out there and so is Ned, and we will get them back. I promise."

He didn't push her to talk about it anymore, just offered the comfort of his presence as they continued to gaze into the morning sky. Melinda smiled, knowing that he couldn't see her face, deciding that if she had Josh and a little bit of faith they might just be ok here until Jim came down.

* * *

Ned and Katie were brought into a dilapidated, damp shelter and then were thrown to the floor. They were both bound at the wrists and Ned had been beaten fairly badly when they were first taken, but had regained some of his strength over the last two days they have traveled. Since then they had changed captors twice over a trek of about twenty miles and were now with a woman and two men.

Katie had earned more than a few bumps and bruises too over the course of their time with the grounders. Once they were left alone, he leaned in to see she was okay.

He struggled but was able to raise his arms high enough to brush her muddy hair from her face. "I kept track of everything the best I could. We walked about three miles before crossing that river and then another dozen or so after, then we reached the road near that pointed statue…"

She interrupted him, "I don't think it matters, Ned," she sighed, leaning into his hand for comfort. "They didn't blindfold us which means they most likely don't care what we might've seen. They are probably just going to kill us."

He leaned back into the wall behind him. "You really think so?" He asked, having wanted to stay positive for her sake, but if she was going to be so to the point, why shouldn't he?

"I don't know what to think," she muttered, looking over at him. "I am just glad to be with you. You may be a total ass sometimes, but I rely on you more than I realized before and I need you in my life."

That made him feel something, the same thing he did every time he was with Katie. Contentment. She made him so happy that he was content, even shackles in a damp shelter as they were now as long as he was with her. The only thing that would make it better would be to get her out safely.

He sat up and despite it all, he kissed her only for a brief moment before he pulled away, wanting to tell her everything he was thinking and feeling for her while he still had time, but Katie kissed him again. This time she slid her tongue into his mouth and it frustrated him beyond belief that he couldn't touch her.

When they separated, they were both gasping for breath and smiling at each other. He raised his hands again, enough to touch her cheek, and she leaned into him again.

"I need you too, Princess," he confessed, quietly, wanting to say more, but hoping maybe they would live through this and he could wait to say the rest in a better place. Only Katie sighed and pulled away from him.

That was new. Had that not been what she wanted to hear from him?

"Did I say something?" He asked, not knowing what he might've done to upset her.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't call me that anymore," she pointed out to him and said nothing more than that.

Part of him wanted to tease her, to stay positive, but he noticed the pain peasant on her face and decided against it. He moved closer to her again, hearing her sniffle as she cried softly. She didn't want him to see her tears, he realized and he wanted to turn away just then.

He fought the urge and reached out in the only way he could, by leaning forward to rest his body against hers like he was hugging her. She had leaned back into him, turning her head slightly, her puffy eyes and quivering mouth standing out to him.

"Hey," he said softly. "It's gonna be okay." He wanted to really hold her, to soothe her pain, but he couldn't. He couldn't even wipe her tears away from this position with his shackled hands. "I never meant to hurt you, Katie. I don't want this to be it."

"It was never you who tainted that name for me, Ned. You didn't hurt me either. Not intentionally," she confessed to him, leaning her face up against his. Then she pulled back when he wined and was studying him, the blood and mud on his face, the bruises, and cuts. "Are you okay?"

Ned only shrugged it off, though he had been beaten pretty badly. It wasn't anything he wasn't used to.

He'd been knocked around by people most of his life. He had gotten into a fair amount of fights as well before he was arrested. "I'm fine. A little bruised and bloodied, but don't worry," he reassured her, smiling as he tried to catch his breath.

She rolled her eyes, not completely believing him, but leaving him be at the same time. "Don't tell me not to worry," she muttered quietly.

There was still so much to be said between the two of them, but the two men who had traded for them appeared again. They grabbed Ned first and he thrashed around, using whatever strength he had and means necessary to try and break free.

Even with his hands bound, his feet were not and he got several good kicks and elbows in before one of them was able to contain him. Nothing could have gotten him to comply faster than what he heard next.

"Ned, don't," Katie called out to him before her voice cracked as she whimpered.

When he raised his gaze, he froze as he saw a blade held to her throat where she was sitting, realizing that the other woman must have come in when he wasn't paying any attention.

"Next time you move out of turn, boy, I cut her pretty neck open from ear to ear," the woman said, pressing the blade tightly against her skin.

He had complied from there on out, but Katie was curious. Could all the grounders speak English? Or only some? While it had been a convenience, she had not expected it.

Katie complied outright, the knife still resting against her throat as the woman behind her yanked her to her feet and led her out of the room. They were brought into a similar one, only bigger and there was a little girl in the corner on what looked like a makeshift bed.

The girl looked sick, pale, and feverish from what she could tell before she was shoved onto her knees on the opposite side of the room with Ned. So many thoughts plagued both of their minds, but when death crossed their minds at the same time, they shared a glance.

Was this truly going to be it?

The woman who had held a knife to her throat came to stand in front of them and she shared a few words in a different language with the other grounders in the room. It was one neither of them recognized and the woman quickly turned back toward them and headed toward Katie first.

Ned tried to move as quickly as he could on his knees to get in front of her. Anything he could do to stop the possibility of the inevitable, but he didn't get very far because, with the click of the woman's tongue, the same two men circled in and yanked him away.

Katie's heart was beating so fast that she could hardly hear anything else as the woman knelt before her, blade in her hand, and then cut the restraints on her wrists. She immediately released a sigh and nearly fainted from the sudden relief.

"What do you want from me?" She asked when she noticed Ned's wrists were not freed the same as hers were. "Why did you trade for us? Did you tell your friends to kidnap us?"

The woman gave her no response, only clicking her tongue again twice this time and the men forced Ned to his feet from the room. Their eyes met for a split second before he disappeared, but she still didn't know what to think.

"If you want me to corporate, he better stay alive," she warned, but still hesitated as she moved to stand up.

"He will," the woman finally spoke and glanced her way. "Follow me."

She was wary of it all, glancing around the room one more time as she watched the woman approach the unconscious girl lying down on the opposite side.

She quickly followed when she noticed the woman staring at her. "What do you want from me?" She asked again, glancing at the girl. "Who are you?"

"I am the war chief of my clan. You have no place to ask who I am," the woman responded, coming to meet her where she stood, spitting at her feet. "You are an invader. Same with your friends. We've been watching you ever since you fell from the sky."

Katie didn't back down even when the woman slapped her. She turned her face back to meet her gaze again, not shedding a tear over something so superficial. "What do you want from me?" She repeated for the third time, flatly.

"Someone tells me you're a healer, that's what I want from you," the woman said, glancing at the girl behind her.

"Who told you?" She asked, walking over to the makeshift bed to look over the sickly child again.

"A little birdie," the woman chuckled, whistling for someone to enter the room and when they did she didn't look over. "This your so-called Sky Princess?"

When the curiosity inside her finally itched its way free and she glanced up, it took a moment with the combined reducing swelling of his face and mud for her to notice it was Murphy.

The boy smirked at her when he saw her realization and then lunged after her. She had tried to dodge his first blow, but it only ended up hitting her higher in the face and the last one in the jaw. She didn't blame him, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

Only she wouldn't let him see her cry. That she would save for later when he was done and it was all over.

"Where's your little lover boy now, huh?" Murphy said as he shoved her to the ground, kicking her for good measure,

The boy probably would've kept going if the war chief had stopped him from doing so. "I did not give you permission to beat her senseless," the woman yelled. "I asked you a question. Is that the girl?"

"Yes," Murphy spat in her direction, only on her face. "That's the Sky Princess."

"And the boy with her? The one who exiled you?" The woman asked, clicking her tongue again.

Katie could barely hear what was being said with the blood pumping behind her ears, but she noticed when Ned was dragged back into the room. He was still being held back by the same two men, only now he was trying to get at Murphy when he saw what had happened to her.

She could hear the sounds of voices shouting, even a scuffle, but it was all muffled as she felt how sore her body was. She could taste the blood in her mouth and feel that her nose was broken. She tried to set it and cried out when she finally was able to, falling back on the ground in exhaustion.

This is the end, she thought. Ned was going to have to watch her die like this, and all because she had given Landon a better and more peaceful death. Was that her punishment for it all?

Somehow she found the strength to try and rise to her feet when she remembered her hands had been cut free. She used a boulder near her and tried to use that to pull herself up, but her arms failed her the first time. She was too weak, too tired, and too beaten down.

Katie heard Murphy chuckle as he approached her. "Did you hear me beating your lover, Princess? Did you think you could stop me?" The boy came over to her and yanked her to her feet, but she paid what he was saying to her no mind.

She could see where Ned was lying in a pool of his own blood, breathing shallowly.

Everything in her wanted to run over to him and make sure he was still alive. Just because he was breathing, didn't mean he would be alive for much longer.

"He's still alive, don't worry," Murphy told her as he groped her through her dirty shirt, chuckling. "I'll let him live long enough to listen to me fuck you…"

She wasn't going to let him get any more than he already had and took whatever strength she had to kick Murphy away from her. He grunted and yanked on her hair, but she only elbowed him in the face and then fell to her knees in exhaustion.

"Enough of your games!" The war chief woman yelled and pulled Murphy away before he could land another blow against her. "She is the one chance of saving my daughter and if you kill her, Tris dies. If you kill the boy, she won't help."

"Why would I ever help you now?" She asked, struggling to breathe. She was still paying more attention to the number of times Ned's chest rose and fell in her hand. He was hardly breathing, only fifty times a minute. It should be nearly triple that. "The man I love is dying and you let him beat both of us, and you still want me to help you?" Katie had realized long after she said it that it had been the first time she had ever admitted the truth about her feelings for Ned, and yet he probably couldn't even hear her.

The war chief turned back to her, sending Murphy away. "I will let you both live if you save my daughter. We have no healer right now and I am desperate," the woman explained.

She glanced at the girl. "And if she dies?" She asked.

"He dies," the woman said, glancing at Ned.

"He is already dying from the looks of it," she argued, scoffing. "I see no point in helping you if the man I love is going to die while I save your daughter."

"If you want to tend to him quickly, do so, but if Tris dies you know what the cost is." The war chief replied. "Do we have a deal?"

"You promise we will be let go?" She asked, slowly walking over toward where Ned was to make sure he was okay.

The war chief grabbed her arm to stop her and she glanced back her way. "We are not all savages like the ones who speared your friend. I only let Murphy do as he bid for revenge. He said you wronged him by exiling him." The woman explained, tsking at her. "I will let you both go when you are well enough to travel if Tris lives. Do we have a deal?"

"Yes, we have a deal," she said, moving her arm free and quickly over Ned.

He whimpered and tried to curl away from her at first, not realizing who it was that was touching him. His body had taken quite the beating from how his shirt was gone and she could tell and feel that he had several broken ribs. His face didn't look too good either and was bleeding quite a lot, so she took a piece of what was left of his shirt on the ground nearby and tried to clean his face up a bit.

Katie's head was spinning and she could hardly breathe without it hurting, but one thing pushed through, her love for him. She was not going to let him die. Not today and definitely not right now.

"Ned, can you hear me?" She asked, trying to resituate him on his side to help him breathe better.

He groaned as he tried to take a breath, his eyes meeting hers. "Hot stuff," he replied.

"Hot stuff?" She tried not to laugh, but it snuck in along with the tears she could feel rolling down her cheeks and dropping off her chin. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"T-t-trying out new things to c-call you now," he said, his teeth bloody as he smiled. "I'm sorry about all this mess."

She shook her head and helped him sit up, apologizing as she winced in pain. "This isn't your fault," she told him, ripping another piece of cloth from his shirt and wrapped it around his bloodied face.

Murphy had looked to have broken or fractured his eye socket and broken his nose, busted his lip along with the fair amount of damage to his ribs.

"It is. I made us split up from the group," he choked out, groaning again as she set his nose. "I took my anger out on Murphy back at camp originally and it led to all of this. This is all my fault, Katie."

She couldn't tell if she heard fear or regret in his voice. "Just relax, okay? I don't blame you for any of this, Ned, okay?" She tried to reassure him as she crouched in front of him. She kissed him, hoping that he would reassure her of his strength and kiss her back, only he barely could because of how weak he was. "I'll be back to check on you soon. I promise."

What she wouldn't give to be with her mother right now. She knew Melinda would save Tris and Ned both, however, she wasn't as sure of herself or her skills.

* * *

The next thing Jim knew there was a bang and he glanced up just before the explosion. The usual Unity Day pageant had just begun where twelve children, one from each of the stations, held a flag for the countries each space station had represented originally.

It made him think of a time when Katie had been that young and how excited she'd been when she was picked to represent their station. She had been only nine or so at the time, but he remembered it all as though it were yesterday. The next thing he knew it was as though a fist of orange flame had decided to punch its way out of the main infrastructure.

The walls crumbled. Smoke and fire rushed out. Thousands of pieces of rubble and steel, a deadly spray, showered around. Alarms - shrill and deafening- erupted from the buzzers attached to the wall and a huge bite had been taken out of the side of the Mess Hall, but thankfully not the far wall. It was hard to believe it had done so much damage so quickly.

Jim had been thrown into the nearest wall to him when the blast hit and had rolled onto his stomach now. His entire body ached and he was sure he restrained his wrist among other limbs. He was not getting any younger. There was chaos all around him as he tried to get up.

When he looked around the smoking-room he could see dozens of dead bodies scattered around the confined space. Most of them were children from the pageant, but there were a few bystanders. It was so loud and his ears still rang from the blast, but he could hear people crying out in pain, shouting for help, amongst other things. He was so distracted by it all that he nearly stepped onto someone below him that he couldn't see from how blurry his vision was.

When he knelt down Jim saw it was a little girl, maybe ten, with a hunk of steel in her chest. "Daddy? Is that you?" The girl whispered once he got close enough, too disoriented to tell the difference in her final moments. "Daddy?"

He knew there was nothing he could for her, but he wasn't going to let her die alone. "Daddy's here," he whispered to her before he moved just enough to cradle her close to him as he moved back to sit on the ground. "I'm here."

She whimpered against him, grabbing onto his arm with hardly any strength. "It hurts," the girl cried, her breathing shaky.

"I know," he tried to soothe her and wished there was something he could do. "You're going to be okay. You're safe now."

His anger raged inside of him as he glanced back over the room. A few medics had started to arrive but were occupied elsewhere. Jim further looked around, seeing that Rick was nowhere to be seen. The commander had to have played a part in this to have run away so quickly from the scene.

The little girl whimpered beneath him again and he cradled her close, in the same way, he would hope anyone would for his Katie if she was going to die like this, so she wouldn't think she was alone.

"Daddy's here," he repeated, blinking away a few tears as he looked down. "You're safe now."

From this angle with the same colored brown hair, it could be his little girl if he imagined hard enough. If she was still this small. Even as he pressed a kiss to her head and he could smell the blood, it was her. It was Katie and she was alive, and safe in his arms as long as he imagined it.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: In honor of David Conrad's birthday I put this together ;) Happy birthday David! I don't believe they could have picked a better man to play Jim, in my opinion. Hope you all enjoy xx Mariah**

* * *

Rick was in a secure room with Eli, his wife Kate, and a few other select personnel that he trusted. Their plan had gone off without a hitch to distract both the citizens and the council while they plotted their next move. The explosion during the Unity Day celebrations had caused a few innocent casualties, but that wasn't something he had the mind to care about anymore.

All He cared about was getting to the ground with those who deserved it, and Jim Clancy was not one of those people. He was going to everything in his power to make sure that man's life ended half as miserably as his own had been for the last twenty years.

His thoughts were interrupted when a guard came running inside the room. "The council suspects it was you," the young man explained, out of breath, standing in front of him, and red-faced. "The Ark is going into full lockdown mode in fifteen minutes."

Rick took the information in with a nod. "Who gave the order?" He asked.

"The Chancellor, sir," the young man said, avoiding his glance then. "He was hurt but is being patched up in the command center as we speak. Only a few minor injuries."

He sighed and his eyes fell closed as he took in a pained breath. He wanted Jim Clancy dead, not being patched up and hatching an idea of how to find him once the Ark was locked down. Without a word, he waved the guard off to leave and the doors closed behind him.

"We should have built a bigger bomb and made sure Jim was dead," he shouted, wanting to pull his hair out.

"The way I see it, we've got two choices," Eli said, agreeing with him. "Stay and fight, in which case we may win if we have enough of the guards on our side."

His wife looked worried. "And if we don't?" Kate asked.

"Take the exodus ship now," Eli muttered, rubbing his temples.

"But it's not ready yet," Kate muttered, shaking her head. "We wouldn't survive."

This was a treasonous and dark road they were all on and while it was necessary they had to be careful about their next move now.

"Can our engineers get it ready in time?" He asked, beginning to pace with the height of the situation closing in around him in his mind.

Kate sighed and shook her head as she pulled out her tablet and unlocked it, swiping through multiple screens of information. "To charge the batteries on a ship that size without causing a disruption to the Ark takes time." His wife told him.

Rick didn't have the patience for her tone and turned toward his wife abruptly. "Then cause disruptions, woman," he scoffed at her, rolling his eyes.

"It'll get cold and with the supposed lockdown..." Kate tried to explain, but began stuttering. He hated that. "Even if the council can find a way to isolate the lesser populated stations..."

"More people will die." Eli finished her sentence and reminded him. "Innocent people, Commander."

"There are casualties, either way, Dr. James," he told the young man. "I want you and my wife to take care of the engineers while I gather my guards to take the ship."

"Yes, sir," Eli said with a nod. "I understand."

"Good," he grumbled under his breath as he turned to walk away and out of the room, both people behind him following.

His wife walked fast enough to catch up to him once they had slipped into a side shaft that was inside the wall, usually used by engineers and other technicians, but a good quick getaway for them. "I promise that we will go down fighting, Rick," Kate said, walking fast enough to catch up to him.

Part of Rick wished he could settle with that, but that wasn't the endgame the commander desired. Not even close.

"Don't make me any more promises sweetheart if you cannot make due on them," he said, glancing at her as they hurried through the small space.

* * *

Tris was breathing.

Deep, painless breaths were coming from her as she slept in the corner. Already Katie could see the color coming back her face. She turned towards the war chief and her guards and then watched as the woman motioned for one of them to take Ned away.

"No." She yelled, going to walk reaching out for him. "You shouldn't move him." The other guard held her back and she fought against them to get toward Ned. She turned to the war chief. "You said if I saved her that we would be free to go! I did what you asked."

"No, don't—" Ned winced as he limped, hardly having the energy to stand, but still trying to protect her all the same. "They'll hurt you."

"The boy is right," the woman replied to her. "We are moving camp tonight and you will be free to leave in the morning if Tris lasts through the night."

Katie watched silently as the woman turned to leave the room, she made to go after her but felt a tight grip on her hand that threw her back onto the floor when the guard tossed her away. She was still aching through her entire body and she struggled to gain her footing again, but when she did she turned her attention back to the little girl at this point.

She walked towards her and checked her pulse again, checking that she was still breathing. She had placed a cool rag on her forehead to try and bring down the fever that she was currently fighting.

Katie wasn't entirely sure the girl would last through the night without some sort of antibiotic, and she wasn't sure what kind she even needed. She knew plants and herbs, but everything else was a blur, even if she had studied under her mother for some time before her arrest.

At some point, she felt the guard come up behind her again. She looked towards the side of Tris's small body, watching over her and trying to check her vitals again. They still weren't stable and every time she touched the girl she felt hotter to the touch than before.

The man behind her grunted and nudged her side roughly. "Ella está bien ahora?" He asked her.

She recognized the Spanish but had to think about what she wanted to say. She didn't know much and it had been a long time since she last took a language class.

When she didn't answer, he slammed his fist into her side. "Diemlo ahora perra!" He shouted.

She groaned and reached for the scalpel that she had used just moments before Ned had been dragged away. Just in case. "Ella está mejor," she said, then motioned to touch her forehead. She wasn't exactly sure how to say what she wanted besides that the girl felt hot. "Caliente."

The man felt the warmth of her skin on her arm and then her forehead before he turned away from her. He walked over to a bag in the corner of the room and rummaged around in there to grab a vial of something that he put into a canteen of water and handed to her.

She brought it to the girl's lips and helped lift her head to get her to drink. Only a little went down before Tris spit some up and she knew it would be better to give her more later.

Once the girl settled again, Katie made a grab for the guard. The scalpel was tight in her sweaty wrist; she went to swipe at his neck, but only grazed against the weapon against the man's skin. He tried to grab her by one of her arms and she let out a painful hiss, but she ducked when he tried to hit her in the head to knock her out.

She made another swipe but was more firm this time and she fell to the floor with him, covering his mouth. He died quickly, bleeding out, and before she even had time to react really to what she had done, she ran toward the door.

Ned had been shoved back into the other room and being as weak as he was, he was left alone. She ran up to him, cupping his cheek as he turned to look at her. "What are you doing?" He asked, voice shaky.

"We need to go," she told him, glancing over his wounds. "Can you walk?"

Once Ned had heard what she said he already began to move, groaning as she pulled him up and let him lean on her. "Sort of… with help," he winced. "Why?"

"I have a bad feeling about all of this," she told him, leading him out of the hunt and keeping an eye on her surroundings. "The girl will live, but we need to go."

When she saw the coast was clear outside, most likely because the grounders had gone to scout a better area to make camp, she tried to run quickly and dart in the way she believed they came in. Katie was running as fast as she could, but no matter how fast she ran, Ned was weaker and couldn't quite keep up to her pace.

But she had no choice, she had to keep running if she ever wanted to live. So she just thought about making sure Ned lived too while running, leading him most of the way and keeping him on his feet while pushing the thoughts about how tired she was out of her head.

A few minutes, maybe half a mile from wherever they had run from when a few arrows seemed to be flying around their heads at first, but then she heard the familiar ringing of the horn she'd last heard when the acid fog came out.

God, she hoped her mom would be safe through this, and then she ducked into a nearby cave that she spotted off to the left covered by some moss. As soon as she thought it was safe enough, she helped him lay down, and then she noticed the arrow in his leg. She had needed to stop for a moment, to catch her breath, but only more struggle lay in wait for them.

* * *

Melinda was watching the sunset when she noticed Josh and Mackenzie come running into camp, followed by a loud sounding horn ringing in the distance. She had gotten up onto her feet the second it happened and watched as Josh began to pull all of the bins of things they'd collected from the bunker inside the camp.

She began to help, but the man beside her stopped her. "What's happening?" She asked.

"Get inside the tent Melinda. Make sure Mack goes with you," Josh said, picking up the rest of the things lying around outside.

Melinda did as he said and ushered Mackenzie inside the tent once she saw the wind pick up and a large cloud of yellow smoke began brewing in the distance. It looked like nothing she'd ever seen before but remembered Katie mentioning acid fog. The way her daughter had described it was similar. It had to be that.

When she saw a burst of lightning inside the cloud brewing, coming closer, she knew that had to be it. She made Mackenzie stay inside the tent but raced back out to grab a bin from the bunker before rushing inside the tent.

A few moments later Josh came in carrying the last two bins and she quickly zipped it closed behind him. She heard the loud sound of an echoing horn again as the cloud most likely loomed closer, and she could only hope Katie would be able to get inside somewhere safe.

"How long do you think it will last?" Melinda asked.

"Who knows," Josh said, plopping down on the ground with a sigh. "I just remember Katie saying that the tents were safe and that's our best option since we can't close the cargo pod door. I doubt she would stay out there to die if she had a choice."

"Yeah, I know. You made the best choice in a short amount of time. We should be fine in here for however long it lasts," she said, sighing. "I just hope Katie got somewhere safe. Ned too."

"Hey from what little I've spoken to her, if Katie has even some of your fire, she'll be just fine," Mackenzie said to reassure her. "My brother too."

It didn't stop Melinda from thinking the worst. It never did.

* * *

**"I wonder how long the fog will last this time," Ned groaned as she reached out and took his hand.**

"Well, it's not like you can walk too well," she said, glancing down at his leg which was losing more color with the more blood he lost. "This will give you some time to heal and keep the grounders away."

Katie had pulled off her long-sleeved shirt to make a tourniquet and tie it above the wound, but she couldn't exactly tell if his main artery had been nicked. She assumed it hadn't because she knew he would have bled out by now, but then again she hadn't removed the arrow or even tried to. She just didn't have the experience to do that on her own.

God, she wished her mother were here with them right now, but one thing she hoped was she had hidden away before the acid fog got too close. Katie suddenly couldn't remember if she had told Melinda about it or not.

"Yeah," he sighed, hissing when he moved it slightly on accident. "Why were they shooting at us? I thought you made some sort of deal."

She shrugged, trying not to give him the right answer. That she had killed someone with her own hands and looked into his eyes while she had done it. "I did. I made a deal and I saved the girl," she muttered, looking away from him. "So instead of waiting until morning, I thought we should leave."

"And?" He asked, sensing more, but she closed him out. "What else?"

Katie didn't want to see the look on his face when she told him she really was a murderer now. He didn't even know how she truly felt about him. Not unless he had actually been conscious enough to hear her say that after Murphy had beaten him as badly as he had.

How could she tell him this?

She shook her head. "Nothing, okay? I'm not ready to talk about it yet." She told him and he stopped asking.

"Okay, I won't bug you," he said and he leaned in to kiss her neck, just close enough to do so. "Not in that way at least."

That was one of the things she liked most about him. He never pushed her buttons too hard and would always resort back to teasing her in some way.

She turned her head to meet his lips, wanting to wash all of the bad feelings away. All of the blood on her hands that she could still see every time she closed her eyes. This was the first time she felt again since that moment, something warm brewing inside her.

When Ned pulled back he looked at her with his alarming green eyes. "Katie..." he began, looking puzzled, but his thoughts were interrupted when the roof of the cave started leaking right over their heads and they both heard a loud booming crack of thunder.

She moved to her feet, a little too quickly and she groaned where her body still ached from Murphy's beating. When she crept toward the beginning of the cave to see if the fog had cleared, she saw that it had, but it was now a downpour.

"It's clear for us to go, but we are still going to be stuck in here for a little while," she said, her teeth 's when she realized just how freezing she was. She was only wearing a tank top since she had taken it off to help him, and she knew he could sense this. "It's raining pretty hard out there."

"Don't worry about that right now," he said, patting a place next to her. "Come here. You look cold."

"But your leg," she said, biting her lip nervously. "What if you get an infection waiting in the cold like this… I would never be able to forgive myself." She shook her head. "We should go."

"No," he said, trying to reassure her. "I could get an infection trying to go out in the rain Katie. Let's just hunker down for tonight, okay? You can keep an eye on me and we'll be fine. I promise."

She sighed, knowing he was sort of right. The rain wouldn't necessarily give him an outright infection, but he had the right idea. "Okay," she said and moved to sit next to him.

However, Ned's warmth didn't stop the freezing draft from biting her so she let him wrap his arms around her protectively as she laid her head on his chest. Even wrapped in the warmth of his body she was still shivering hard enough for him to sense it.

He suddenly pulled away, wincing as he rose his arms above his head to pull his shirt off. She noticed the bruises from Murphy's fists, the discoloration, and cuts all around. She touched him as he moved back toward her.

"What do you think you're doing?" She asked, trying to control her tone from being too stern, but she didn't know exactly what he had on his mind.

At least the darkness was hiding the flush in her cheeks from the sight of his muscled torso again. Even through all the bloody and bruised mess of his chest and sides, he still ignited something warm inside her.

"Bare skin generates heat better," he said calmly, and cleared his throat before continuing, "You should take off your tank top." When she didn't reply at first and also didn't move to take her shirt off, he moved closer to her. "Katie, please let me help. I want to do this for you since you've done so much for me this past."

She nodded and slowly started to pull her tank top off, but her body ached when she tried to raise her arms past a certain point and Ned helped her the rest of the way. "How bad did he hurt you?" He asked, tracing his fingers up her side.

"It was mostly my face," she said and knew neither of them could see well, but he raised his hands to touch her split lip and the welt on the top of her head. "But he kicked me a few times for good measure before the woman stopped him."

She laid back down on her back, hoping Ned would wrap his arms back around her. Instead, he laid down next to her propped up on one elbow, studying her face the best he could. She looked into his eyes, trying to read his mind, as he so easily read hers, but before she could stop herself from cutting him off.

"I don't know what I will do if I lose you," she whispered and he looked startled, but almost immediately answered.

"I believe you will keep me alive until we get back to your mother, okay?" He said before kissing her again. "Be positive because then your dad will be here sometime soon too, if not already."

She let her eyes fall closed and felt the heat of his body that he pressed tentatively against her. "Be careful," she whispered against his lips. "Your leg."

"I know," he said, his body heavy on hers allowing her to feel him breathing heavily.

She reached her arms around his neck and she could feel his pulse. He was alive and right there, and she only wanted him closer, as though breaking contact with him would cause him to drop dead and she couldn't bear the thought of losing him.

"I love you," she whispered, wanting to tell him and needing to tell him at that moment because she didn't know if either of them would survive or get back to her mom without running into more grounders.

He responded by tangling her fingers in with his own, smiling. "I know. I heard you before," he said and held their hands up to his mouth and kissed them warmly. "I love you too and you can tell me what happened back there. I can handle it."

Ned leaned his head into her shoulder and planted a light kiss. He continued, slower than before, planting kisses along her collarbone and neck. She felt comfortable and gripped his arm instinctually as he pulled back to look at her.

"I didn't trust them. That's what it came down to… I also didn't know if the girl would survive through the night and that's what our safety was betting on," she explained with a sigh. "So I made an in the moment choice."

"The guard?" He asked, reading her mind and then looking down at her hands. There was still dried blood on them. "Katie... are you-"

"I'm fine," she muttered, moving away sharply and going to wash her hands of the blood in the trickle of water from the rain.

"Katie, you did what you had to do," he called out to her and grunted as he moved to sit up. "We all have."

She turned away from the trickling water, the blood still on her hands. "I still killed him," she whispered as he wrapped his hands around her and she tucked her head into his neck.

There was nothing left to say and despite the heavy rain all either of them could hear was their breathing, synchronized as their chests rise and fall. She only wanted it all to go away and in the crook of his neck and safety of his arms was the closest she was going to get right now.

* * *

Jim was fastly pacing in the command center when Andrea came running in and toward him. He could hope that she had good news for him, but based on the glance she gave him, he knew it couldn't be.

"What's happened now?" He asked, sighing.

The lights in the room began to flicker and several computers shut down, causing commotion from people around the room. That wasn't normal, at least not for this side of the Ark.

Jim's head was still pounding and he was still reeling from the explosion that had only happened a few hours ago. Had it been four hours or six? He couldn't quite remember.

"I'm not exactly sure, sir," Andrea had never been the type to address him so formally and they had shared a look. "But we've lost power to multiple stations. This isn't good. People are going to die if we don't figure out a solution."

"What stations?" He asked, sitting down to process all of this information in the nearest chair.

"Five, two, and eight seem to be the most affected. Now we can vent in air manually to save power, but the temperatures are going to start falling fast." Andrea explained, showing him a diagram of the entire Ark and the red sections affected. "People are going to freeze to death first."

He had to think this through or people were going to die. "Lift the lockdown and let's evacuate those stations now." He said, giving orders to a few people who left the room to put that into action while Jim stood up and walked toward his office, Andrea following close behind. "Has anyone found Rick?"

"There's no word on Rick yet," she said, quickly closing the door behind them so they could speak privately. "Although I have a theory."

"Speak freely," he said, going toward his desk and sitting in his chair. He pulled open the top drawer and grabbed a small bottle of medicine to help with his headache popping a few into his mouth. "You know you always can."

Andrea chuckled for a second and then was serious again, as always. "I know that Jim, but I only have one question. Do you truly believe Rick was behind all of this?" She asked.

"Who else?" He asked, scoffing. "If I had given my speech this year more adults and the entire council would've been present. Instead, he killed children to distract us, but for what?"

"I know. I also know Rick had conveniently left before the explosion." She said, glancing down at her tablet and then placing it in front of him. "Multiple power grids are being drained. That's what's causing the power system to collapse."

He took in all of the information like a sponge, sliding through different screens of different information before it all clicked when he saw where the power was being drained to. He stood up from his desk, practically throwing the tablet against the wall in anger.

"He's going to take the exodus ship," he muttered, glancing up at Andrea. "That little… weasel. Let's go. We have to stop him. We aren't missing that window and he is not getting down there before me so he can do something drastic."

Andrea followed him as he stormed out of the room and was running down the hallway, trying to keep up, but being that she was only two inches shorter than him it wasn't that hard. "What do you think he'll try to do? Would he really try to hurt Melinda to hurt you?"

He didn't want to think about that, but it was prevalent in his mind. Their daughter was too. "I don't know about Melinda... he still cares for her, but I worry about if he would try to hurt Katie." He said, running a little faster then.

* * *

When the rain cleared, Melinda had moved out of the tent to get some fresh air. The sun had set and it was a clear night, a few lingering storm clouds were above in the sky. There was a bright flash and loud sound as something broke through the atmosphere that caught everyone's attention.

"What do you think that is?" Mackenzie asked, squinting. "It's a little late at night for the ship to drop in."

"It's going too fast," Josh muttered and she shared a knowing look with him. "I don't think we should..."

"Whoa, look!" Mackenzie pointed, just as Melinda whipped her head back over to see just how fast the ship was coming toward the surface.

Everyone knew Jim was supposed to be on the first Exodus ship, and everyone saw the crash as it reached the ground.

Josh immediately came running back to where he'd left her to go examine the explosion closer, and he finds Melinda on the ground staring up in shock, tears in her eyes that she's not yet shed. Mackenzie was standing a few feet away looking concerned yet completely out of her depth at only fifteen years old so he took over, and Mackenzie walked forward, staring at the explosion.

Josh kneeled in front of her and called her attention from the sky to his face, mumbling phrases of comfort. She finally allowed herself to cry out and leaned forward into his chest, where he held her.

"You don't know if he was on there Melinda." He tried to comfort her. "Just try and keep positive."

She wanted to believe that, but she couldn't. Jim had told her he would be on the first ship. What other reason was there for him not to be?

"We were supposed to grow old together," was the only thing she could manage to say.

"Melinda, you don't-" Josh continued to try and comfort her, but nothing was going to stop the tears. She knew that and so did he.

She ignored him, tears rolling down her cheeks. "We were supposed to have forever."


	20. Chapter 20

Ned's hand was on her shoulder.

"Katie…"

Her eyes were watery. Her head had begun to pound dully somewhere deep within her skull. With her vision blurred, she looked up at the dark sky again and the smoke rising in the distance.

There was no more movement. There were only the still points of light diffused through her tears, shimmering dully above the mountain.

_Stars_ , Katie thought. _Just stars. No ships._

Her father's ship had crashed, a shock of bright white light in an explosion seared with pink and violet. It had been coming too fast with no parachute release and there wouldn't be anything left of it other than a pile of smashed rubble with a crater upon impact beneath it, the smoke and debris rising into the night sky, and everyone inside of it must be dead.

Katie was always on high alert. Always thinking things through, but it wasn't possible to survive something like that, and she knew that. That was why she was kneeling on the ground, her body wracked with quiet sobs.

_Her father is dead._

_Her father is dead._

_Her father is dead._

It's the only thought in her head. It played on repeat for an eternity and when it's over the world's coming up to meet her. Katie was sinking. And she couldn't breathe. She was all pathetic, shuddering breaths but it's not enough to sustain her. Nothing matters anymore. Her father was dead.

And god, that's such a horribly selfish thought because she should be mourning all the passengers who died, of the tragedy of lives taken too soon. But she can't stop thinking that her father died and she'll never get the chance to fix anything between them.

But then she felt a hand grasp her shoulder, fingers gripping tightly at her skin. And it's pulling her out of the dirt and she remembered Ned, that he was hurt and she needed to get back to her mom. God, her mom. She hoped her mom hadn't seen the ship crash, but there was no way she hadn't. Anyone within 150 miles would've seen the explosion for how high the flames and smoke rose.

Katie reached out for salvation and found Ned seated beside her frantically looking into her eyes.

His hand moved from her shoulder to press against her cheek, stopping the flow of a few tears trailing down her face. "Katie, look at me," he spoke calmly to her. "Take deep breaths. Can you do that for me?"

_It hurts. It fucking hurts like hell._ She let her focus drift from the pain to study him, but she'd try for him. Her eyes traveled from the top of his hair to the freckles scattered across his smooth, tanned skin.

Ned had finally regained some strength, despite the arrow still stuck inside his leg. They were trying their best to move him back to where they thought her mother may be and if she wasn't there they would have to fend for themselves until they could get back to the dropship with the rest of the hundred.

"Katie, breathe," Ned said more firmly, and his fingers pinched into her shoulder. "We need to keep moving. It's nightfall."

"I can't…" She sobbed. "He's… gone."

"You don't know that," he tried to reassure her. "I saw another ship land not long after. He might've been on that one. It didn't crash."

_Always the positives_ , Katie thought numbly.

"It didn't crash? Another ship?" She asked, trying to regain a steady breathing.

"Yes," he told her again. "Can you walk? Or do we need to stop?"

She managed to find the strength to stand, but her blurry vision caused a misstep on the ground of the forest floor. Ned caught her arm as her shoulder fell into his chest, but he winced and nearly doubled over.

He held her arm with a firm, but gentle grip. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, looking over at him. "Did I hurt you?"

"You're fine, Katie," he said gruffly near her ear. "Do we need to make camp? I understand if you need to take a moment."

"You can't survive another night out here with that arrow in your thigh. It could rain again and you could get a fever or... or worse," she said, voice shaky, but still using her strength to help him walk through the forest. "We need to go."

She went on autopilot and led him toward a fire she could see in the distance. As they got closer, three people came up, dressed in Ark-like guard uniforms with their guns raised, but lowered them slightly.

"Who are you? State your purpose," one of them said, but he didn't look familiar to her.

None of them did.

"Or what you'll shoot me?" She asked and then motioned to Ned and the arrow sticking out of his leg. "He's hurt. I need to find my mother. She's a doctor."

"Who's your mother?" A woman asked, but was quickly told to be quiet by the obvious commander or leader in the middle.

"Take him to the medical tent that was being sent up, Chavez." The man in the middle said. "And you, take her to lock up since you're so curious. They could be grounders."

"I'm not a fucking grounder," she yelled, pulling out her knife as the one named Chavez came close to Ned. "We were a part of the 100."

"Criminals. Even better," the same man scoffed and waved for two others to grab her. "Take her to lock up."

"NO! Don't touch me!" She threw the first punch when she felt the tazing wand crash into her side. It shocked her and she screamed, falling to the ground. "No," she repeated. "We were pardoned."

And everything went black when she was hit in the head.

* * *

Katie was locked up, again, for the second time in the last few days. This time was the second time by her own people. She was in a dark room, repurposed from the Ark, into a makeshift jail cell. She could tell that at least two others had been locked up here before her.

There were handcuffs and ropes on opposite sides of the room, directly on both sides of her. Something must have happened to them, they were gone, now.

She started to think that the Ark may have introduced a new system of laws for criminals on Earth, since their old ones were now null, hoping no one has been killed. Her head throbbed with pain. She couldn't tell if there was a bigger wound or if it was just from being knocked unconscious. She was in too much pain to tell anything at all.

Katie couldn't tell how long she had been in the cell. She did remember that the sun had just gone down when she and Ned came upon the camp, then she was knocked out. _Is Ned alright? Had they brought him to her mother?_

Soon streaks of orange light came through the window of the room and she realized that it's dawn. A new day. She sighed.

About an hour after the sun had risen in the sky the door to the makeshift cell opened and three guards and a woman walked in. For a minute, Katie just acted like she was asleep. She didn't want to get into any more trouble than she might've already.

Then she hears a voice that she recognized automatically, her mother's. "What happened? You could've shot them! They are just kids."

A male's voice responded, one she recognized, the same one who'd knocked her unconscious. "They were too close to camp. I thought they might've been grounders and they ended up being a part of the 100. They are dangerous criminals."

Melinda's voice came back, angrier than before, "The boy you brought in was the one who was with my daughter. That's who he kept mumbling about in his sleep and the girl you were telling me he was with might be her. How do you think your Chancellor would feel if you had killed our daughter?" Katie still doesn't open her eyes. Was her father alive? "Where is she?"

"Right there," the man muttered under his breath.

She heard a bag drop at her feet and zip open. Then she felt her mother's hands on her face. Her head was pulled to the side and Katie opened her eyes. Melinda was looking into her eyes, her face still covered with mud and blood.

"Mom," she sputtered out.

Melinda's eyes widened immediately. "Katie! My girl… you're alive."

She looked over her mother, who was covered in dirt and blood and looking very much like a medic, only now as one on Earth. Even with tears falling down her cheeks, Melinda still looked strong, and in the moment of noticing that fact, Katie decided that she needed to know, her mind paralyzed by shock.

"I'm fine," she said, softly. "Is dad… alive? I saw the ship crash… And Ned? What about him?"

"Both of them are alive, Katie. So much has happened," her mother explained and her head whipped around and she yelled to all the guards in the room. "Get her to the med bay, NOW! That's an order! You stupid, damn people!"

* * *

Thankfully, the cut on her forehead was only superficial. Her mother had cleaned her wound up quite quickly and gave her clean, dry clothes before giving her a moment of privacy. By the time Katie had finished getting dressed and ready, the sun hung higher in the sky and Melinda came back with a plate of food. She had wanted to find out if Ned was okay, but obliged her mom by eating not only because she loved her, but also partly because she was starving.

After a few moments of silence, she looked up from the sandwich. "Will you take me to Ned?" She asked. "I want to check on him first before anything else," she said.

"Of course," Melinda said, drinking her coffee. "He's been asking about you every time I go to change his bandages and healing progress. I think he is rather smitten with you."

Katie smiled. "Things with Ned are… complicated," she sighed. Boy talk. It was something so easy to fall back into even in times like these. "I care about him a lot, but things are so hectic and it's hard to do anything right now. I can't afford to be caught up in my feelings right now."

Her mom set her cup down and reached over to hold her hand. "If you love him, it's always worth it. I promise."

She gave her mom's hand a slight squeeze as she thought about their conversation and her relationship with Ned over and over. She was drawn back to the picture of him, bare-chested and holding her close in the cave to keep her warm. And to everything else. To him saving her life and being there for her when she needed someone. Was everything she felt for him, love?

"Will you take me to see him?" She asked, not quite as hungry anymore. "Is he still in medbay?"

"In a bit, and no, he's not. He was cleared yesterday because you did so well with keeping his wound tied off and clean. He recovered quickly," Melinda said standing up and leading her from the makeshift medical room. "You need some sun on your face first and then I'll tell you where he is."

As they walked through the halls, she heard shouts from outside and broke out into a run. Running through the halls, past other civilians, past guards, through the doors, outside. "The kids are back!" she heard a guard yell. _What kids? The only kids she knew of was the ninety-seven or so left back at the dropship camp._ She looked around the grounds quickly with her eyes, trying not to overlook anything or anyone.

The first person she recognized was Hannah. She had Jasper's arm over one of her shoulders and another girl, Katie didn't recognize, had the other arm draped over hers. They had just ascended over the little hill of camp. She didn't even wait and could sense that her mother was following her, hopefully with her medical bag.

Katie knew Jasper was still recovering when she had left camp and must've overworked himself or had torn his stitches on the travel here, and ran toward them. When she got just a couple feet closer to them, still a good meter away, she saw another person rise up on the hill and her heart sank deep into her chest.

Ned.

She stopped dead in her tracks looking at him. Not just looking, staring, and hoping with all her heart she wasn't hallucinating. He was walking carefully beside Mackenzie, trying to keep his weight off his healing leg. He could've looked worse, and Katie was happy about that; the only thing different was the tired, somewhat sad look to his eyes as she looked into them for a couple of seconds, but then they gave each other a smile.

_Maybe it was something with his family._

Having to force that fear out of her mind, she nearly choked on the lump in her throat when she knew the exact moment he grasped her presence. He never took his eyes off of her once. They walked straight into each other's arms and the first thing she noticed was how hard he clutched her. He held her like he expected her to fade away, to disappear, and buried his face in her shoulder.

He smelled of dirt and sweat. It doesn't smell bad, it smelled of- well, Ned. It was good. She didn't mind the tightness of the hug, at all, not even in the slightest. She was probably hugging him the same way, she couldn't really tell but neither did she care. It was warm and reassuring. She never thought a hug from anyone besides her parents could feel so safe, so right. It was the safest she had felt in a long time.

He was the first to pull away, after what felt like an hour. Immediately she missed the arms that were around her, the heat from his body, the pounding beat of his chest, and the feel of his breath through her hair. He didn't move from being so close to her and he was just looking at her, staring into her eyes.

His eyes glowed with relief and she found herself blushing under his gaze. "Princess," he said, smiling. "It's good to see you again."

She tried to sustain a calm demeanor, but her voice gave her away. "I was worried about you," she whispered because until now, she thought he may have been dead.

"I could say the same thing about you," he said, sighing. "The last thing I heard was you scream... Katie, I wanted to kill them all-"

"Just the tazing wand," she said, squeezing his hand to try and reassure him "Nothing that hasn't happened to me before in lockup." They had come a long way since that first day on the dropship.

"Still," he sighed again and held her close. She felt his lips cool against her forehead, as he pressed a kiss there. "If there hadn't been an arrow in my leg..."

She had laughed into his chest. She knew he would've done something if he could have. "I know that, but I'm glad you didn't. They might've killed you," she whispered and looked up at him. "And I don't want to be apart from you. So we're sharing a tent."

He smiled, but his face still showed hesitation. "You took the words right out of my mouth, but what about your parents?" He asked. "What will they think?"

"That doesn't matter. I don't care what anyone thinks about me anymore," she told him, "I just want to be with you." She made the decision to kiss him, right there in front of everyone. She hadn't cared much until a tear-filled voice broke through her thoughts, automatically making her head turn towards the sound of her name.

Her father was somehow still wearing a tie, though his shirt was untucked and dirt and sweat covered it. Even with tears falling down his cheeks, Jim Clancy still looked strong, and in the moment of noticing that fact, Katie decided that the past needed to be in the past, running towards him, her mind paralyzed by shock.

The last time she had hugged her dad was back on The Ark (when it was still floating in space), and she was about to be sent to lockup after being arrested. After a year in solitary, she had come to hate him as much as she loved him. And maybe, if she hadn't been so certain he was dead she wouldn't have done forgave him so quickly.

There weren't many words involved from either of them, but they were each the same: "Oh my God. You're alive."

Jim had picked her up and swung her around, pressing a kiss to her forehead and cheek and then when she was back on her feet on the ground, still didn't let her go. "Katiegirl," he whispered, an old nickname but it was welcome to her ears after so long. "You're alive." He'd repeated those words six times but he was still as shocked as she was that they were standing in front of each other. "I never thought I'd see you again."

"I thought I saw you die..." she whispered, her eyes filling with tears at the idea of it all over again. "Daddy, I-I'm so sorry for making you stay away before."

Her father held her again and wiped away her tears. "You were upset and had reason to. I should've found a way to free you... and I did. I could've never let you die. Never."

"I know," she said, holding him tightly.

Everything was going to be okay.

* * *

**A/N: And that's it, everyone! I hope you enjoyed :) I may upload an epilogue at some point, but it may be a bit :)**


End file.
